Royal Blue
by December
Summary: Prequel to A Month as a Time Walker Love of legends on earth, a great evil coming from the moon...not quite the Silver Millennium we thought. This is the way it really happened.
1. how they met

Royal Blue - How They Met

A long time ago, on this very planet on which we live now, there was a love story. But it probably is not the love story you have been taught. This story isn't as grand as the legend that some have bandied around. It was more real, which is only proper because this story really happened. It is full of laughter and tears, happiness and anger, contentment and fear. This is the story of the royals of Earth during the time that some would call the Silver Millenium.

Our story began on the night of a royal ball. Noble women from all around were in attendance to celebrate the prince's birthday. It was also hoped that one of these noble women would catch the eye of the young prince. As the young man was now five and twenty, many thought it was time he considered marriage.

And the young heir, Prince Terrius, was definitely the stuff of dreams for many of the women present. He was amazingly handsome, with his pitch black hair and blue eyes. Added to this picture was his air of seriousness and shyness. He could make anyone he was talking to believe that they were the most important thing to him at that moment. He also had a deep and almost musical voice that radiated authority. It was rather easy to hang on his every word. Add to this the fact that he was rich and his wife would be queen someday and Terrius became practically irresistible.

How much Terrius knew about how he was seen by the women around him was anyone's guess. The young man was raised to be polite and correct, so he was. Yet, in spite of his public persona of composure and self-assurance, in many ways he felt worried and afraid, especially on the issue of finding the woman who would be queen. Unbeknownst to many, he himself was also looking for a woman to marry, the woman with whom he could happily spend the rest of his life, but as of yet he hadn't found her. He needed someone who would understand him and want him for who he was as a person, not for his title. All the noble (and some not so noble)  
women around him that threw themselves, both subtly and blatantly at him were only interested in the crown they'd get to wear after they roped him in. No woman among his acquaintances had ever been able to see him as more than a prince, or see pass their possible future as a princess. He believed that the perfect woman, the woman for him would be able to see him as Terrius, not as the next king of the planet. She would be smart, graceful in spirit, loyal, and as in love with the people of this planet as he was. His perfect helpmate would care about the planet's people, not about her power as princess. She wouldn't be afraid to get her hands dirty. She'd have the ability to laugh and to help him to laugh. And, although beauty does catch a man's interest, in the end, he didn't care if she was beautiful or not. He just wanted her to be real. But in all the balls, in all the presentations,  
in all the conversations he had had with noble women all he saw were power-hungry, well-dressed vipers who only wanted the title,  
or, on a rare occasion, a nice person who just would never be able to understand him. As the years went by, Terrius began to believe that his perfect helpmate didn't exist.

That night, Terrius looked around the ballroom filled with ladies he'd known for most of his life, part of him again searching for "her". As his eyes took in the sight of the packed ballroom, he noticed an open window that led to one of the palace's east balconies. And on that particular balcony stood a young woman. She wore an ice blue dress and her hair was piled on her head. She leaned against the balcony looking away from the ballroom. She didn't move at all, even when the wind blew strands of her hair or the bottom of her ball gown. Even from behind, leaning on the balcony, she looked every inch a lady. But more than a lady. There was something about her. If Terrius was more poetic, he may have compared her to a goddess, or a perfect snowflake floating on the wind. Curious as to why she was outside alone, he walked out onto the balcony.

He crossed the balcony to lean against the railing next to the young woman. After a moment of standing next to her, she finally spoke, "It is beautiful, is it not?"

"The view?" the young man asked as he gazed in the direction the woman was looking. "Yes. It is." After a few minutes of quiet, he wondered aloud, "What transfixes you most? The moon? The stars?"

"None of the above," the woman laughed. Her voice, while not musical was compelling and strong. It also had traces of...happiness, "I am a little strange. I like looking at the horizon, not the heavens. I think so many people miss what is wonderful about this planet because they spend all of their time staring up at a sky that may not even be welcoming. The stories on the ground are so much more moving than anything over my head."

Intrigued by her seemly sincere interest in the planet and its people,  
the young prince asked, "Stories? What do you mean by stories?"

"Well, for example, see that window down there? The one with the candle"  
the woman said as she pointed, "I am sure in that window sits the daughter of a merchant, spinning dreams about this ball. And over there, in the military barracks," the woman pointed in the opposite direction, "a mother is reading to her son. And in the streets, the nightwatchmen are humming"  
She smiled. "I have always appreciated the world beyond titles."

"And so that is why you are out here?"

"In part," the lady acknowledged. "But more so because I do not fit in in there." She sighed.

This puzzled the young prince. The lady on the balcony seemed more like a lady than many of the ones he knew. She had a loyalty and appreciation of the planet's people. She had a way of standing, of being, like she belonged anywhere she decided that she wanted to be. Confused at why the proper beauty felt alienated, Terrius became bold enough to be impolite and not let the issue go, "What do you mean? You are an invited lady, just like everyone else inside."

"Yes, I was invited. And technically I am a lady now; but I was not born a lady. My father was a colonel. For bravery and loyalty in service, he was awarded a title when I was three. This step up meant a lot to my parents. They set about to give me every advantage a lady should have. But, I was not a 'real' lady, and the real ladies would not let me forget that. Oh, there were exceptions, but for the most part I was not included. And I was easy to spot."

"How were you easy to spot?" asked the prince, who, up to that moment had assumed that she was born into her title like all the other young women present.

"I do not have many of the things real ladies have. I never really acquired the social graces. I am not especially graceful. I do not know who is who and nor do I care to learn. I have friends 'below' my standing. My title is not recognizable. I do not have noble family traditions. But, most importantly, I do not have the most visible symbol of being a lady; my house has no a flower. This means I have no flower to twine in my hair for special occasions, no flower to put in my floral arrangements or bouquets. No flower with which to associate myself. If I were male, this would not matter. Sure, their houses have flowers, but they never need to use them. But as a female...not having a flower screams 'bought title'.

"Usually, I do not mind," the young woman insisted. "Only, I would rather not deal with the looks and whispers tonight." After a beat, she asked without turning to look, "Why are you out here?"

Answering honestly, the young man replied, "Something just drew me."

"To something or away from something?"

"Both?" the young man said, holding his breath. He expected a reply along the lines of "That's not an answer", but the woman just nodded.  
She seemed to understand that he honestly meant the answer he gave; he wasn't just being diplomatic.

And maybe it was that quiet understanding that caused him to expand on the statement. "Both," he breathed. "It was just as I looked around that room tonight I felt, I do not know, trapped. It was like I had a role to play and no one saw me as something other than that role, that no one ever would see me as something other that that role. And, I looked at others in the room, and for a moment, just a moment I wished I was him, or them, or someone else." He laughed humorlessly.  
"I guess the grass is always greener somewhere else."

"So that was drew you away from the ball, what drew you out to this balcony? Besides the open window, I mean." was the soft question.

"Curiosity," Terrius answered honestly. "Curiosity and the need for fresh air. Emotional fresh air, not physical fresh air." He smiled as he looked back at the horizon. "It was a good thing; I never realized the horizon was so healing. It is like the past and future meeting somehow in the present, hope and history."

The woman smiled quietly. As the two looked out at the horizon, they kept their own council. Both were intrigued by their balcony partner, but they didn't know what to do at this point. Finally, the young woman said, without turning to look at the young man. "My name is Adaunde.  
What is your name?"

That threw the young man. Although he had enjoyed the conversation,  
he had assumed that the young woman had known who he was the whole time.  
Sure, she didn't bow or use the customary address when he first approached,  
but he had chalked that up to the fact that he had interrupted her musing.  
"You do not know who I am?" he asked in his amazement.

"No," the young woman laughed, still looking at the horizon.

"Well, if you look at me, you would know."

Thinking the young man felt trapped by his station, probably as a guard or servant, and thought that she would know "his role" and react according based on a uniform, Adaunde took a deep breath and resisted the urge to look at her balcony partner. Station was so important in this world, and, unfortunately so divisive. "I shall not look at you," she insisted. "So will you tell me your name instead?"

"Seriously, if you just look at me," the young prince said as he tried to put himself in her line of vision. Yet the woman stubbornly refused to look at him. After several attempts to get the young woman to look at him, he gave up. "Fine. My name is Ter-" he began, but then he suddenly stopped.

The woman laughed, "Your name is Ter- what? Are you not going to finish?"

But the prince had paused for a moment. Here was a woman who didn't know him as the prince, who seemed to like conversing with him for who he was,  
not for what he was. He didn't want to ruin that...and ruin it he would if he gave her his real name. Everyone, "real lady" or not, knew the name of the next heir to the throne. After taking a deep breath, he said, "Terry. My name is Terry."

"Well, Terry that was not so difficult," Adaunde laughed. She smiled to herself.  
Adaunde didn't believe for one minute that Terry was his real name. It was probably Terrance or Teriary or something. And he was probably a soldier charged with protecting the royal family or one of the palace workers trying to steal a moment with a "lady". 'And doing a good job of stealing her heart,' she added to herself. Of course she was curious;  
she wanted to look at him. But at the same time, she knew that as soon as she did, the magic would be over. The station barriers would rear their ugly head. He'd bow and start using the "my lady"...and the intriguing young man with the beautiful deep voice who asked her about the horizon would be gone. Selfishly, she wanted a few more moments with this young man, she wanted him to be a part of her memory. And she wanted to be someone he remembered. She smiled sadly. If she was just a colonel's daughter,  
she wouldn't be so scary or so unreachable. But as Lady Adaunde...she might as well be in another region, she appeared so unreachable to soldier, merchant,  
and worker alike. Thank the creator that her few friends didn't feel that way, but unfortunately, the rest of creation seemed to. For this moment where she could just be Adaunde and share the horizon with someone who appreciated it, she'd trade ever being able to see him.

Next to Adaunde, Terrius sighed. In many ways, stepping onto the balcony had changed his life. For the first time he felt like maybe, just maybe, he found a lady that he'd want by his side forever. And she refused to look at him! He found that annoying... and intriguing. It also gave him a small window of opportunity to be with someone as himself, separate from his legacy. It had only taken him a few moments to decide to make the best of this. How long he had before she realized who he was or someone came looking for him and ruined the moment, he didn't know but he hoped it was a while. Because as soon as they were interrupted, as soon as his title was used, she'd curtsey and apologize profusely, and refer to him as "Your Royal Highness"...and the intriguing, beautiful young woman at his side who seemed, for even a brief moment to be able to understand him would disappear.  
If he could have nothing else, he'd have this moment. Maybe this was all a dream and he'd wake up soon, maybe this surreal moment was only in his imagination and he was really on the balcony alone. Whatever was going on he wanted to selfishly hold onto it for a while longer.

"Do you believe what the Seerer say? About soul mates I mean?" Adaunde interrupted his thoughts.

"Are you a Seerer?" he asked, ranking his brain for information about that particular faith.

"No, I am a Creationist. I just was thinking that the Seerer view of soul mates, of some ultimate partner out there waiting for us, is interesting."

Terrius nodded as he reflected on the little more he knew about Creationist faith. As a group they believed in this higher power that they praised, thanked, sought for help, and asked for self-transformation. He vaguely remembered there being a debate about whether this power was a he, she,  
or it...and the accusation of some that creationists were pushy and stressed people. Adaunde, however, seemed calm and at peace. It was something for him to ponder.

But, instead of reflecting more on her espoused faith, he returned to her statement. "I never really thought about it. It seems like a romantic idea," he offered.

Adaunde nodded, "Yes, romantic. But not very practical." 'Practical,  
like the fact that if he has a post to report to me keeping him here could get him into trouble. Practical as in I should walk away.  
because then I can be in control of the memory, of my memory.' She closed her eyes briefly as she pushed away from the balcony and turned around.

"It was nice to meet you, Terry" she said as she walked back toward the ballroom. She paused for a moment as she stood, with her back to him, facing the ballroom, bracing herself to go back in. "Looking out at the horizon really does need two people, no one person could do it justice alone. I guess that makes it like many things," She observed. "Thank you for listening to me," she said quietly and sincerely. Then she slipped inside through the open window, leaving the puzzled young man on the balcony.

As soon as she was out of eyeshot from the balcony, Adaunde walked behind a pillar and sagged against it. "Wow." she whispered to herself. It was true that she wasn't a seerer, but if she was she'd believe that she had met her partner...who she had refused to look at! All because of how he may have reacted to a possible station difference. "It is true, I am crazy," she laughed to herself. But for a few minutes she hugged those moments on the balcony to her heart. Then she resumed her walk to the door. As she left, she realized that she hadn't presented herself to the royal family, but, acknowledging that she wasn't important enough to be missed, she just continued home. And as she walked part of her hoped that, the creator willing, a young man named Terry would be looking for her someday.

Back on the balcony, the young prince slowly turned back to the horizon. He had watched Adaunde walk away. And he had thought of ways to stop her,  
including ordering her to stop, but...he didn't. In fact, in many ways, he wasn't sure she was real. "Adaunde" he said quietly as he looked out over his kingdom to be, seeing more clearly, the houses and the people of the ranks below him. And he saw the beauty that Adaunde saw in the horizon; and it was more than enough to tear his gaze away from the heavens for the more than a moment. All this was a gift given to him, along with a greater gift, hope. Hope that his helpmate was out there...and a wish that her name was Adaunde.

- to be continued - 


	2. how gifts speak

Royal Blue - How Gifts speak  
  
3 hours after sunrise, the queen of earth sat placidly in the   
earthen drawing room with a list of addresses and merchants in  
front of her. The earthen drawing room was a room just off  
the east wing of the palace, where the royal family slept and  
kept their private quarters. The royals often used this room  
for informal gathering and policy discussions. This morning  
the queen was working on some of the tasks necessary after  
a ball was given.  
  
The door to the room opened and in walked Telluric, king of   
the earth, who was just Luric or father to his family. He walked  
over to his wife and bent to kiss her. "So, Honoria, what is the   
task today?"  
  
Queen Honoria smiled at her husband, "Gift selection for the   
guests of the ball, of course. But we cannot start yet."  
  
Her husband frowned, puzzled. "Why not?"  
  
"Because Terrius is going to join us and help with the selection."  
  
"Terrius? Our son, Terrius?" the king asked, surprised. "He told  
you he was coming?"  
  
"No," Honoria shook her head, "but he will be."  
  
"How can you be so sure?"  
  
Honoria smiled to herself as she reflected on the ball, "Because I  
know my son," she said aloud.  
  
During the ball last night, in a rare moment when she wasn't at her  
husband's side, Honoria was having a conversation with her brother,  
Lord Gaius, when she happened to look out one of the balcony windows   
and see her son with a woman she didn't know.  
  
"Hale," the queen asked, "who is that woman on the balcony next to   
my son?"  
  
Her brother turned and stared at the woman in question for awhile.  
After a few moments, he answered, "I cannot be sure without seeing  
her face, but that looks like Lady Adaunde Anderson, daughter of Col.  
Bill Anderson, who your husband lorded 11 years ago. She attended  
preparation at a prestious institue in Afrique, sent on with honors.  
She is currently home acting as a lady, under duress, so the rumor  
goes." After filling in his sister while still looking at the  
couple on the balcony, he looked back at the queen, "Should we   
interrupt them?"  
  
"No," the queen said as she looked at the couple. To see her son  
talking to anyone beyond the necessary formal plesantries, unless  
they were friends, was a rarity. 'I think my son may have found  
a girl worth courting. And it's about time.' "Let us give them  
some privacy," the queen insisted as she drew her brother away from   
the window to talk to other people at the event.  
  
"Oh, I am sure," the queen said as she came back to the present.  
"He will be here."  
  
As if on que, the door opened and in walked Terrius. "Mummy,   
Father," the young man said as he bowed slightly to his parents   
and then kissed his mother on the cheek.  
  
"Good morning, my son." Honoria said.  
  
"Yes, good morning, son. It is somewhat of a surprise to see  
you here. Are you realy going to help us select gifts?"  
  
The young man nodded uneasily. As he sat down, the room   
remain silent for a few moments, with the only sound being  
the queen's stylus on the list in front of her. Finally,   
Terrius asked, "Mother, what do you know about a lady named  
Adaunde? Her father-"  
  
"Was First Col. William Anderson whose brave act of loyalty   
saved your father; Luric lorded him for that. She is out  
of preparation, was sent on with honors, in fact. She has much   
to recommend her," the queen stopped as she sent her son a  
knowing look. "I would say she was even worthy of a fourth gift."  
  
By the end of her reply, both her husband and son were staring  
at her in shock.  
  
"How do you know everything?" her son asked.  
  
"A fourth gift? Are you serious about this, Honoria?" her husband  
asked.  
  
The queen smiled, "I know because I am your mother and I have my  
sources. And, as for the fourth gift, I am serious, Luric. Yes,  
I have not actually had a chance to talk to the girl as she left  
before she presented herself, but I trust the judgement of our son in  
this."  
  
The room was silent a little longer, until the queen asked, "We  
are looking for a fourth gift for Lady Adaunde, are we not?"  
  
Her son, realizing what a fourth gift meant and what he wanted -  
maybe even needed -, nodded.  
  
The queen smiled. "Well, let us get started then. We need to get  
a first gift out soon. As for a fourth gift, some of the things  
given in the past have been-"  
  
"That is okay, Mummy," Terrius interrupted. I know what my fourth  
gift will be...it will just take some research."  
  
"Okay, well we should also brace for the gossip, so no sharing  
anything outside of this room."  
  
"Gossip? how will anyone know what we are doing?" the king asked.  
  
The queen just shook her head at her naive husband. "Even the walls  
have ears. Besides, I am sure that the merchants on the street are   
already talking about us looking into a fourth gift."  
  
*****  
Later in the day an odd but familiar sight was seen walking the market.  
A lady and a merchant's daughter were walking in the open air, comparing  
prices, laughing, and talking. Normally such a phenomenon would never  
happen. There were clear status lines between the nobility and the  
merchantry. Nobles, responsible for the political leadership of the   
planet, were usually very conscious of their rank. Merchants, responsible  
for "creating" and disturbing needed goods, knew how far away they were   
from nobles in the status hierarchy, with the military (and their   
responsiblity for enforcement and protection) ranking higher than the  
merchants were. Yet this lady and merchant's daughter were different.   
It was well-known that Lady Adaunde would gladly destroy the divisions   
caused by the status system and that Mistress Maya was rather bold,   
going after what she wanted. Maya had gone after Adaunde's friendship   
as a toddling two-year-old, and they had been close ever since. This  
noble and merchant being seen together, therefore, didn't cause any  
comment. But their conversation might have.  
  
"So what happened at the ball last night? Did you meet her?"  
  
The excited questioning of her oldest friend threw Adaunde. "What  
do you mean, 'what happened'? Did I meet who?"  
  
Maya sighed and pouted, "Don't hold out on me, Adaunde! Something  
huge happened at the ball. Something huge. Everyone is talking   
about it. You were there; you MUST have an inkling of which lady  
finally merited a fourth gift!"  
  
Adaunde was even more confused. "A fourth gift?" she asked, "What do  
you mean?"  
  
Maya shook her head. "What am I going to do with you? You do   
understand the gift system, right?"  
  
Adaunde nodded. "After a ball, the royal family bestows three rounds  
of gifts on the ladies in attendance. The first gift goes to every  
lady who was present. The second gift goes to a more select group  
of ladies, those connected to the formal legislatures of the planet,  
ladies tied to adminstrators or judges are not usually included here  
unless they are from powerful houses. The third gift goes to an  
even more select group of ladies, those that hail from the ten most  
powerful houses, mostly. But a fourth gift? I do not-"  
  
"You don't know anything about it? That's because it is given out  
rarely. The fourth gift is given by the reigning prince to the  
lady he wants to court. It's a formal way of asking to get to know  
a lady. But more than this, it is always a first step to becoming  
queen, and often used only once by the 'king to be'. Almost  
every queen, including Her Majesty Queen Honoria, were recipants of  
the first and last fourth gift that the reigning prince at that time  
bestowed. So, I want to know if you met the woman who will most   
likely be our next queen!" Maya finished in a loud voice.  
  
Adaunde smiled at her gossip-hungry friend, "I am sorry, Maya. I have  
no idea who this woman could be. I avoided the ballroom most of the  
time I was there. Most likely it was Lady Talia-"  
  
"Nope. Her engagement to Lord Anthony Waynemeyer, the next Duke of  
Amerwest was just announced two weeks ago. Merchant Calinder is doing   
the wedding."  
  
"Or Lady Bella-"  
  
"Who, besides being solely a good friend to the prince, has set her  
cap at the hamesome Morte-Vida. Not her either."  
  
"But I would not know," Adaunde said pointedly to her friend. Then,  
in a suspicious casual voice, she continued, "A lot happened that  
night. I was too occupied with other thoughts to even look for the  
prince. I did not even present myself to the royal family, which  
upset Mama greatly."  
  
Maya looked at her friend, slightly disappointed, "You didn't   
present yourself? Dawn, what am I going to do with - wait a minute,"  
Maya stopped walking suddenly as the rest of what her friend said  
processed. "What else happened that night?"  
  
"What makes you think anything-"  
  
"I know you," the future merchant interrupted, "So spill."  
  
Adaunde sighed. After a few moment with the only sounds around  
them being the bustle of the market and the impatient tapping of  
Maya's foot, Adaunde relented. "I met someone at the ball."  
  
Maya's eyes widened. "Met someone as in 'hi, how are you' or  
met someone as in met met someone?"  
  
"As in met met someone."  
  
Maya put her hands on her hips and threw her friend a nasty look.  
"When you were planning on telling me?"  
  
"When I came to terms with it and knew for sure I did not dream   
what happened." Adaunde sighed. "Oh Maya, he was wonderful. He  
understood, about the horizon, about everything." She laughed.  
"He did not even seem to mind that I was a Creationist. I have  
yet to understand why that seems to upset people," she added  
under her breath. "It was...I really do not know what to say."  
  
"What's his name?"  
  
"Terry. At least, that is what he told me. I do not believe that is  
his name, but he felt comfortable in the alais so I did not press."  
  
Now excited that her friend seemed to actually be serious about a guy,  
Maya's eyes lit up and she asked, "So what does he look like?"  
  
Adaunde had been afraid that this question was coming. "I do not know."  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?"  
  
"I did not actually see him."  
  
"Okay, let me see if I understand this," a frustrated Maya got  
out while twisting part of her dress in her hand. "You met met a  
guy. He was wonderful. He 'understood' about the horizon, so  
you obviously had a conversation with. You are in possession of   
a name that you believe is fake...and you DON'T KNOW what he looks  
like? How is that possible?!"  
  
Adaunde blushed. "Because I never looked at him."  
  
"You never LOOKED at him?!"  
  
Adaunde let out the breath she had just taken. "He was out on the  
balcony with me, seeking escape from the 'role' he felt trapped in.  
Most likely, he was a royal guard or a palace servant. As soon as  
I turned to look at him, it would have been 'my lady' this and 'my  
lady' that...and I did not want that. I did not want status barriers  
between us. If nothing else I would have the memory. But I hope,  
I do hope that Terry is looking for me." Adaunde turned to her  
friend, "Do you understand?"   
  
Maya nodded. She knew how her dearest friend detested being set  
apart from people and how she hated the political game played to   
perfect by some in the nobility. Adaunde, for all of her faults,  
and she did have them, had a big heart...one too big to pay attention  
to or like status hierarchies. Her friend would willingly spend  
a whole night not looking at a servant if it made him feel more  
comfortable. "Yes, Dawn. I understand." After a few moments of  
silence, Maya looked at her friend. "You do realize that this  
Terry may never come looking for you."  
  
Adaunde sighed. "Yes, I know." Maya reached for her friend's  
hand and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you," Adaunde said softly.  
Then, in a stronger voice, she said, "Now, did we not come down  
here so that you could conduct some business espionage?"  
  
"It is NOT espionage! I just need to confirm a rumor, is all."  
  
And with that, two old friends continued walking and laughing,  
putting aside the possible life-changing ball. For the moment,  
anyway.  
  
*****  
He couldn't believe it had been a week. The week had flown by  
and tomorrow he was presenting the fourth gift. He had put a lot  
of research into it, reading books on flowers and the registries  
of the noble houses. And then there was the paperwork. The young  
man sighed.   
  
It wasn't just the work on the gift that had worn the young man   
down. His nerves had helped as well. What would she say? Would  
she turn him down? Adaunde was the first person who really seemed  
to understand him and understand that he was deeper than his crown.  
But what if she didn't like what she saw?  
  
The door opened and a voice said, "I take it that the fourth  
gift will be ready soon?"  
  
"Mummy," the young prince said, and was about to jump to his  
feet and bow when his mother held up her hand to let him know  
not to get up.  
  
"The blue calendryias and notes went out this morning. Are you  
ready for the presentation?"  
  
"Yes," the young prince confirmed. "We will need to call the flower  
merchant again."  
  
The queen looked puzzled. "Son, the calendryias are already out.  
I am sure we could recall them, but -"  
  
"No, I need the merchant for the fourth gift."  
  
"Flowers? You are giving flowers as the fourth gift?" the queen asked,  
surprised. "But the fourth gift is supposed to be special and to  
show that you somehow understand the lady in a way she does not   
herself. How-"  
  
"Trust me, mummy. These flowers say all of that and more." the   
young man sighed. "I just wish that I was not so nervous."  
  
The queen gave her son a hug. "If it is in the Creator's will, you  
have nothing to worry about."  
  
At the mention of the Creator, Terrius's stepped back and stared at  
his mother. "I did not know you were a Creationist!"  
  
"I am not, I still quest after. Yet, in some things, I do believe  
that the creationist are correct." The queen smiled, "My son, it  
will be okay. I have a feeling that someday soon I will be talking  
to a princess to be about a wedding dress; and I am confident  
that her name will mean 'challenger'."  
  
******  
It was evening, a week after the ball and Maya arrived at her  
friend's house, extremely curious about the urgent summons. All   
her friend told her was "Help!" That's it. Maya was a little  
worried; such a short and desperate summons was out of character  
for her friend. Adaunde always seemed to live up to the meaning  
of her name, "the challenger"...but with this cry for help she   
almost sounded defeated. That alone was enough for any good  
friend to leave home in the middle of the night to help a friend.  
  
Maya found her friend in the library of the Anderson home. Adaunde  
sat in the floor holding a note. An ice blue calendryia sat in a  
clear container in front of her. A beautiful framed picture of the  
horizon and sunset lay against the wall directly behind her. And  
Maya thought she saw the twinkle of a charm or pendant that her   
friend wore around her neck. "Adaunde?" Maya asked.  
  
Her friends head shot up, and Maya could see tears, fear, and a  
touch of angry helplessness in her friend's face. Now Maya was  
more worried. "What's wrong? What is it?"  
  
"Maya, thank the creator you came. I-" Adaunde seemed to be at  
a temporary loss for words. "You have to help me." She managed  
to finish in a whisper.  
  
Maya moved all the way into the library and sat on the floor across  
from her friend. "Dawn, you have to tell me what's wrong. You're  
scaring me!"  
  
"I think someone is playing a mean joke, or that something has gone,  
terribly wrong, or - well, I do not know what to think."  
  
"What makes you think that something is wrong?"  
  
"Maya," her friend sighed, "Look at the pendent I'm wearing. Look  
at the stuff in this room. I know you are in the know; figure it  
out."  
  
Surprised at the way her friend snapped at her, Maya decided to  
follow her friend's advice and look closely at the objects in the   
room. First, Maya looked at the new jewerly her friend wore, which  
she could see more clearly from her vantage point. It was a white  
gold pendant of a dancing slipper. Then, Maya turned to look at  
the picture of the horizon against the wall. It was a beautiful  
redition by Maquillage, a very in demand merchant of art. Finally,  
Maya looked down at the rare ice blue flower in between her and her  
friend. Calendryias were hideously expensive in their native   
light bronzy color; the ice blue one must have been even more  
hideously expensive. The pendent, the picture, the flower...Maya  
suddenly gasped as she put it all together, "You got all three of  
the royal gifts!"  
  
"And I should not have! Not unless someone is playing a cruel  
joke. My family is not that powerful that I should receive  
such recognition," tears began to well up in Adaunde's eyes.  
"My parents, this has meant the world to them. But if someone  
has done this to hurt me, to hurt them," Adaunde's eyes narrowed.  
"They will pay." The young lady sighed. "But that is not the  
worst of it."  
  
"There's more?" Maya asked.  
  
Her friend nodded, "This came with the calendryia." Adaunde passed a piece of  
paper to her friend.  
  
Maya scanned the note. She looked up at her friend after a few  
seconds, "His royal highness is giving his fourth gift in the main  
square tomorrow and asked that every lady recipent of the third  
gift stand by a merchant's boothe?! Well, I'm definitely working  
Daddy's boothe tomorrow, and you are standing by it!"  
  
"But this cannot be meant for me, do you not see that? Why would   
I need to witness courting ritual?"  
  
"Maybe because you are getting the fourth gift."  
  
"No," Adaunde shook her head violently. "It has to be some  
sick form of amusement for someone." The young woman sniffed  
back tears, "But even if the gift was for me, I would have to  
turn his highness down."  
  
There were a few moments of shocked silence. Then Maya shouted,   
"WHAT?!"  
  
"I would have to turn the prince down. Now Maya I know I sound  
crazy," Adaunde continued on over Maya's objections, "but I -  
I want to get to know my Terry, not the next king. And if,  
if Terry is a guard or palace servant, even Prince Terrius's  
presenting a fourth gift to me ruins my chances with Terry. If  
the prince decided he wanted me for some reason, it would make  
me off limits to anyone who ranked lower than his highness who   
was tied to the palace or royal family in any way. I would  
rather be laughed at in the streets tomorrow then..." Adaunde  
trailed of. "Maybe I should not go."  
  
"No way. You are going. You have to; this is a royal summons,"  
Maya pointed out. Then, in a gentler voice she said, "It will  
be alright. I'll be there with you." Then Maya smiled, "Besides  
it will be a great show." She laughed, "And whatever merchant that  
the next potential queen is standing next to will make a fortune!"  
  
That cause Adaunde to laugh, which helped Maya to smile. "Now  
come on," the merchant's daughter said to the lady. "We have  
to figure out what you are going to wear tomorrow. It has  
to be something that sets off that calendryia that you have  
to wear tomorrow. Do you still have that champange-"  
  
And the conversation turned toward fashion, with the fears of  
the challenger pushed to the side for the moment.  
  
*****  
It was three hours after sunrise, and the main market square was   
packed. Although the middle remained clear, as per orders of  
the royal family, people watched from windows of buildings above,  
from the sidewalks, and from the 25 merchants booths that made the  
square. Beside 12 of the 25 booths, stood a lady by instructions  
of the royal summons. The emotions of the ladies ranged all over  
the place from excited and curious to dreading; yet, there seemed  
to be a level of antipation in the air, as everyone was spectulating  
on the identity of the lady who would receive the fourth gift.  
  
Standing next to the Calinder booth, Lady Talia al Ghoul surveyed  
the crowd. She knew most of the ladies that stood by merchant   
booths, and she was trying to guess which lady had finally caught  
Terrius's attention. She sighed and she brushed some of her long  
dark hair behind her shoulder. Usually her hair did hang in her  
face, over half of it in general; she normally didn't mind, but she  
wanted to see everything. That meant pushing her hair back.  
  
An arm snaked around her waist and a strong male voice said, "This  
is an interesting scene. One wonders what his highness is up to."  
  
Talia turned and looked at the source of the voice. "Good morning,  
beloved," she said as she kissed her fiance. "And do not be so  
hard on our dear Terrius. He has his reasons."  
  
His Grace, Lord Anthony Waynemeyer lifted an eyebrow at that statement.  
"Whatever his reasoning is, this seems more like a corination than  
a request. I wonder who the lucky lady is."  
  
"We all do, beloved."  
  
"Hopefully, he does remember that you are now spoken for."  
  
Talia laughed, "Oh beloved! Do not worry so. I am sure I am not  
the one upon whom Terrius is going to bestow the gift. I am only  
here because I was born into a powerful family, no matter how much  
my father frightens people, and I am about to marry into another."  
  
Anthony's eyes narrowed. "I would rather not talk about your   
father; we do not agree on that topic. I will say again, however,  
that the man is dangerous."  
  
Talia sighed, "He is my father, beloved. And I will always love him.  
I cannot agree with shutting him away because you think he is   
dangerous-"  
  
Anthony nodded, "I know, Talia. I know." The young duke scanned  
the crowd. "So who do you think Terrius will choose. Most people  
are betting on Bella."  
  
Talia shook her head. "I don't think so. Bella and Terrius are  
friends, but nothing more than that. I suspect that Bella   
probably knows who the lady will be, but I am sure it is not Bella,  
herself."  
  
Anthony chuckled, "Which is probably a good think as Morte-Vida is in   
the crowd opposite the booth where she is standing. He's been staring  
at her since he arrived."  
  
Talia quickly turned her head and began scanning the crowds. "Where  
is he?"  
  
"He's well hidden, Talia. I do not think you will see him."  
  
Talia pouted slightly. "That is a shame. It would have given me   
something to do while I was waiting for Terrius to present his gift."  
  
Across the square, another lady stood by the booth, also very  
curious about what was going to happen. Lady Bella, who   
always seemed to wear a happy smile unless faced with a serious  
situation, stood musing to herself. 'I wonder who the lady is.  
Terrius has actually told me nothing of his thoughts, for once.'  
She snorted, 'Like I have not noticed how distracted, happy,  
confused, and nervous he has been lately. And I know it was  
someone at the ball. I just do not know who! Please get here  
soon, Terrius.'  
  
Lady Bella sighed as the clothier merchant at the booth where  
she stood came out again to mention their "wonderful wedding  
selection". Bella knew she was the favorite in the eyes of  
many; she knew about the numerous large bets on her to receive  
the fourth gift. It did not help that the ice blue calendryia  
matched almost perfectly her light blue hair. She hoped that  
this didn't deter Morte-Vida. She was really hung up on that man.  
And hey, if Talia with her creepy father could land Anthony, Bella  
was sure that she could get an offer out of Morte-Vida...she hoped.  
  
Under her breath, Bella began to eliminate the ladies standing  
around the square. "It is not I. Lady Talia is newly engaged,  
so it is not she. Lady Ashante is the new Countess of Afrique,  
so it is not she. He cannot abide Lady Ashley. Oh Terrius,  
I really wish that you would have told me. The suspense is   
driving me crazy!"  
  
Finally, another interesting conversation what happening about  
three booths over. "Adaunde, will you at least turn around and   
look at the show?"  
  
"No."  
  
Maya sighed. "Look. No one is going to laugh at you. Just turn  
around and face the music. It will be a great story to tell your  
kids someday."  
  
The lady shook her head. "You tell me what you see."  
  
Maya sighed. "Okay. Well, His Grace Lord Waynemeyer is staking  
a visible claim on his fiancee, which I think is funny. The  
Laurens are bugging Lady Bella again. I think they really think  
that they will be getting a royal wedding out of this. Think about  
what that would do for business. Lady Ashley is primping next  
to her booth. She seems to be working on some kind of acceptance  
speech. I guess she is really sure of her chances."  
  
"Creator help us all if that is Prince Terrius's choice for the next  
queen." Adaunde laughed.  
  
Maya turned away from her friend as she saw the commotion at the end  
of the square. "It looks like the prince has arrived. But-" Maya  
broke off as she stared at the heir apparent. He was not in his   
traditional uniform and he wore no crown. Instead he wore a deceptively  
casual outfit. Any merchant or worker would know immediately that  
he was nobility or royalty...but someone born into the military or  
noble strata would assume that he was a merchant or a well paid servant.  
'Why is he trying to hide who he is? Is it important for some   
reason that this woman not see him in his full royal regalia?' "Bless  
my heart, oh Creator." Maya breathed out.  
  
"What? What is it?" her friend, who was still not looking at the   
center of the quad, asked.  
  
"He's coming this way."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Maya nodded. "Yep, he is coming this way, with Sgt. Breyer right  
behind him."  
  
Adaunde's eyes narrowed, "That opportunist, silver-haired, backstabbing  
menance! To this day I wonder how his disloyal actions landed him  
a place in the royal guard."  
  
Maya eyes kept getting bigger and bigger as the prince got closer. Suddenly  
he stopped and spoke. And what he spoke surprised these two women, but  
for different reasons.  
  
"Adaunde," the young man said.  
  
Maya's mouth dropped open. The prince had called her friend by name.  
Maya was even more shocked as she looked at her friend's face and   
saw the light dancing in her eyes. "Terry," Maya heard her friend  
say quietly. "You found me."  
  
The prince replied, "Of course I found you. Will you look at me this  
time?"  
  
Adaunde laughed, "Only if you are confortable with it."  
  
Terrius handed the box and scroll he was holding to his guard  
for the had, Breyer and said, "Yes, I'm comfortable with it."  
  
With that, Adaunde turned around and Terrius took her hands in   
his. The two of them just stood there for awhile, staring at  
each other, until Maya's shocked outbursts processed in Adaunde's  
head.  
  
"Maya, what is it?" Adaunde asked as she turned to face her friend.  
  
"This is your Terry?!" Maya asked in a squeak.  
  
"Yes. I would never forget his voice, but why are you so-"  
  
Maya groaned. "You mean you still don't know who he is?! Dawn,  
take a look, take a good look at your Terry and think for a moment."  
  
Adaunde did as her friend bid. Her Terry had beautiful blue eyes.  
His dark hair tended to fall in his face, but that just added to  
his charm. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and seemed a little nervous.  
His slightly off center smile was charming...and causing her to   
smile herself. He could give the prince a run for his money-  
  
Adaunde gasped and her eyes widened as she finally made the connection  
that everyone else around her had made. "Your high-" she started to  
say as she began to curtsey.  
  
But Terrius stopped her, pulling her into his arms so she could not  
show the deference that she was about to. "Please, just call me Terry,  
Adaunde."  
  
"But, your hi-  
  
"Terry, Adaunde."  
  
"Terry," Adaunde repeated softly, still looking shell-shocked.  
  
"I have a gift for you."  
  
"For me?"  
  
At her question, Terry opened the white box that Breyer had and pulled  
out a wreath of white lilies, which he placed on Adaunde's head.  
  
"It is beautiful," Adaunde said, "but the house who is represented by  
these flowers, will they not be upset that I am wearing them?"  
  
"No, they will not." Terrius took the scroll from Breyer and   
handed it to Adaunde. "Read this."  
  
Adaunde broke the seal and read the formal document...and then read it  
again. When she looked up, she had tears in her eyes. "A flower?   
You gave my house a flower? But - but why?"  
  
Terrius smiled, "Because, as far as I am concerned, you are a real  
lady. Real royality and nobility is not about birth, it is about  
character. And if the nearsighted people we call 'my lord' and 'my  
lady' need to see a flower to understand who you really are, so  
be it."  
  
By this point, Adaunde was crying in earnest, a little too moved to   
speak.  
  
But Maya wasn't. "Say something, Adaunde! Put the boy out of his   
misery." She looked at her friend who still stood there in shocked.  
"Oh forget it, I'll say something. Yes, your highness, she accepts  
your request for courtship. You are 'her Terry' as far as she is  
concerned." Maya leveled a look at the prince, "Take good care of   
her."  
  
Terrius smiled at the true friend in the merchant. "I'll try to  
take as good of care of Lady Adaunde as a courter as you have as  
her friend."  
  
Maya smiled and nodded. She always knew that her friend was meant  
for greatest by her huge heart alone. But she had never thought  
in all of her wildest dreams that her best friend may one day be   
queen. 'The peace of the Creator and the luck of these lands be  
with you, my friend and my prince.'  
  
- to be continued -  
  
Yes, I know I had said that I was going to look at the moon kingdom  
side of the story this chapter, but this was dying to be written.  
I am working on the other side of the story, I promise.  
  
Also, although it may not seem like it, this chapter is more like  
a crossover. Talia and Anthony are Talia al Ghoul and Bruce Wayne  
from the Batman series. Bella is Botan from Yu Yu Hakusho (and, if   
you think that is odd, wait until you see who her daughter is).   
Hopefully they weren't too OOC.  
  
Finally, I am desperate for feedback. Let me know what you  
think, via review or email or something. Thanks for reading.  
~December 


	3. how nervous, how calm

Royal Blue - How nervous, How calm  
  
It was a time of great joy for the kingdom. They had been waiting twenty-seven years for this day; two of which were spent in high anticipation. The entire capital was gaily decorated. Crowds were gathering in front of the ceremonial hall or around their projection devices to see the beginning of the next chapter in the life of their ruling family.  
  
Yet, not that far away from the ceremonial hall, in a room of the castle, five special women sat who were not jumping up and down in excitement or laughing in joy. These five women sat in silence, four because they were concerned about the fifth. And, although the fifth woman was feeling joy, she was also feeling nervousness and fear. And the latter two emotions were swamping the first.  
  
In front of the nervous woman sat the four other women in a semi-circle. The one to her immediate left was dressed in a dark brown ball gown, her thick dark hair was laced with lavender heather, which was all the more striking due to her features. She represented the element of earth and was one of the four "attendants" for the woman in front of her to the left. Next to "earth" sat the second woman, wearing a flimsy, short white dress representing "air". This female was born to a lower station than all of the other women present, but her boldness demanded that she be treated as an equal and her kindness and loyalty assured that she was. Ivy was wound through her reddish hair. Of all the women in the semi-circle, she knew the one who sat in front her longest and best; which is also probably why she was the most concerned at the moment. Next to "air" was the woman representing "water". Wearing a long straight light blue dress that shimmered (and almost matched her hair), she had her hair wrapped in a bun around a bunch of pink Bouvardia...and her normally bubbly personally was wrapped in concern for the woman in front of her and a man buildings away. Finally, next to "water" sat a woman in a bright red, strapless dress, nearly scandalous because of amount of leg it showed, who represented "fire". This woman, with long dark hair covering half of her face had somehow, with pins and other things, managed to weave the long and complicated snapdragon through her hair. She looked at the woman to her front right, slightly worried about what was running through her head.  
  
"Fire" probably had a right to be worried, as doubts assailed the last woman in the room. She sat, starring distractedly down at her lap, a wreath of calla lilies secured on her head. Constantly smoothing her beautiful white gown with one hand, she clenched a bouquet of white calla lilies and golden orchids in other. Every once in a while she would shake her head, close her eyes, and then open them again. She hadn't spoken in the last twenty minutes.  
  
This probably why her outburst was so shocking. Suddenly, the young woman jumped from her seat and said, "I cannot do this! I cannot. There is someone better. I was not meant to...I just cannot," she finished as she crumbled in the chair.  
  
That moved the other women into action quickly.  
  
"You cannot pull out of this now!," objected Fire, also know as Her Grace Lady Talia Waynemeyer, Duchess of Amerwest, "Think of what this would do the kingdom."  
  
  
  
"And to Terrius," added Lady Bella who sat next to Talia.  
  
"Earth", the Countess of Afrique, Lady Ashante Zaire just placed a comforting hand on the arm of woman in white.  
  
"But do you not see?" the agitated angel in white countered, "It would be worse for me to go through with this. I am not what the kingdom needs. I am not sure how I ever deluded myself to think I would be! It would be better for the kingdom if I were to leave now. And Terry, well, someday he" the young woman's voice caught on a sob. She struggled to push out the rest of the statement, "he will find the right one for him who shall not be an...an embarrassment." She looked around the circle in front of her, as tears began to form in her eyes. "Surely, at least three of you must realize that I could never be the lady this would require me to be!"  
  
Ashante, Bella, and Talia all opened their mouths simulataneously to object, but air, Mistress Maya, held up her hand to stop them. "Dawn, look at me," she ordered her closest friend. When the woman complied, Maya continued, "Dawn, not only are you the right woman for all that is in front of you. You are the only woman for it."  
  
"But, Maya - "  
  
"Don't 'But, Maya' me. You will only convince me to let you go, if you can convince me of three things." The other women looked at Maya in horror, wondering why she was giving the clearly distraught Adaunde an out to make a decision with huge ramifications. But Maya ignored them. "Dawn, I am your friend. I have been your for most of our lives. You know that you are important to me, don't you?" At the nod from her friend, Maya pressed on, "So, because I care about YOU, I shall help you to cry off, if that is your final decision, provided that you can convince me of three things."  
  
Adaunde nodded, and the three other women became very nervous.  
  
"The first thing," Maya began, "is that you must convince me that you do not love our prince."  
  
"A royal title means a life that is not your own. Visiting nobility to whom one must be nice; properity that must be observed at all times. Never having private moments. All of the attention. Of course I hate that. Most people would."  
  
"That isn't what I asked you, Dawn, and you know it. I asked you if you loved Terrius - not any duties tied to where and to whom he was born."  
  
"Maya-" the woman looked at her friend with pleading eyes.  
  
"Answer me honestly, Dawn. Do you love Terry?"  
  
"Of course I do!" the woman burst out. "That is why I am so upset about all of this! If he were anyone else, I would be so happy now. I would not be concerned with making life more difficult for him. I would be a wonderful wife of an officer, and I would have you to help if I were becoming a wife of a merchant, but-"  
  
"So, you haven't convinced me on that point,"  
  
"But sometimes love is not enough," Adaunde countered. "True love makes sacrifices, even if it means a broken heart. This is one I am willing to make, no matter what it costs my heart."  
  
That statement made Maya pause. After a few moments of silence, with Adaunde looking at the young women with eyes pleading with her to understand, Maya relented. "Okay, since, I do agree with you that love may not always be enough, I will grant you that last point. So, convince me of the other two points and I shall help you with whatever your final decision."  
  
"Hold," Talia objected, "we cannot allow you to do that!"  
  
But the Maya and Adaunde ignored her.  
  
"What is your second point?" Adaunde asked her oldest friend.  
  
"Convince me that you will alienate His Royal Highness from the nobility class."  
  
At this, Adaunde snorted. "That is easy. Everything about me screams 'bought title' and everyone is upset that I have dared to move so far out of my station. The smarter ones in the class have just learned to not say what they think and use the situation for their advantage."  
  
"But no one thinks you bought your title," Ashante interrupted. She continued over the protest she saw in Adaunde's eyes. "No one thinks that you bought your title, because you did not. Your family did not. Only those who are extremely jealous and insecure in themselves even say such falsities out loud. To whose spewed hate have you been listening?" she asked quietly.  
  
Adaunde looked a little surprised at Ashante's statement, but she rallied quickly, turning to Maya and adding, "But, even if my title is seen as legititmate, I shall still alienate Terry. My best friend, while she is the most wonderful person in the world," at this Maya smiled, "is not the most powerful in the world. It is not like I can rely on a network to help Terry press a point with the governing class. I have no friends who are nobility."  
  
"Do you honestly believe that?" Bella asked. "What of us?"  
  
Adaunde smiled sadly as she turned to the friendly women, "Lady Bella, you have been nothing but kind to me, but you are kind to me because of Terry. He has been your friend for years. Just as I would tolerate someone that made Maya happy, you tolerate me because I have somehow managed to make Terry happy. You are a good friend, but I have no illusions about to whom you belong."  
  
At that statement, many of the other women in the room looked at one another, not sure how to respond to Adaunde's point. As Maya was about to concede that Adaunde was correct in this, Bella said softly, "I was never going to share this with anyone, but soon after you and Terry became engaged I began living in fear."  
  
"Why?" Adaunde asked, "Am I so horrible as to - "  
  
"Oh, no!" Bella quickly interjected, "Just the opposite! Yes, Terry is my friend and I shall always care about him, but you have become my friend as well. Did you not ever wonder why I never turned down an invitation to tea, even when I knew that Terrius was on the other side of the kingdom?" Adaunde shook her head as Bella continued, "This past year I have been so worried that something would break up the engagement and I would have to chose between someone I love like a brother and someone I have grown to love like a sister." A tear slid down the woman's face as she smiled sadly. "Some days I could not take the thoughts, so I forced myself to think of something else."  
  
Adaunde stared at the blue haired woman as a tear ran down her own face as well. "Bella, do you mean that?"  
  
The blue haired women nodded and got up to hug Adaunde.   
  
The shell-shocked woman smiled briefly, but quickly got right back to the point. "But even if I can count Lady Bella in my corner, she was in Terry's corner before. How have I added anything to him?"  
  
"But, Adaunde, you added me," Ashante offered.  
  
Turning back to look at the Afrique native, a confused Adaunde asked, "I did? But, how did I-"  
  
"Do you remember when we met after His Highness began courting you?" Ashante asked. At her nod, Ashante continued, "Do you remember what I said to you?"  
  
After thinking for a moment, Adaunde began to slowly nod her head, "Yes. You said that you were impressed with my preparation record and even more impressed that I reached out while I was there. But how-"  
  
The countess smiled. "Before I met you and realized that more than likely you were going to be the 'other half' of his highness, I was prepared to make the necessary court appearance, but to do no more than that. I planned to spend most of my time in Afrique. But seeing you and  
  
having watched you during preparation, even though I was a year ahead of you, I knew that if you were involved with the royals, it would be worth my time to be involved as well. I knew that our people would be in good hands."  
  
By the time the countess had finished, Adaunde's eyes had widdened. "Ashante...I had no idea that-"  
  
Ashante smiled, "Of course you did not. That is what made it sincere, you were being you."  
  
Maya smiled, "Well, it seems like you cannot justify the second point. Unless Her Grace would like to weigh in?"  
  
Talia shrugged. "I use the impression that many have of my father to avoid interactions that I do not wish to cultivate."  
  
"But, Talia," Adaunde began as she turned to face the black haired woman, "you never use those rumors when you talk with me. In fact, you seem to go out of your way to disprove them-" she stopped suddenly as she understood the duchess's point.  
  
Looking better for the first time that day, Adaunde turned to her oldest friend. "So what is the last point, Maya?"  
  
"Prove that you would be bad for the people of this planet."  
  
At this point, the other three women looked at each other, relieved and confident. They had seen their new friend "the challenger" in action. There is no way that anyone could make the case that she was in anyway bad for the people. This confidence probably explains why they were so startled when they heard her say quietly, "But Maya, that is the easiest thing to prove."  
  
At that point the shock had gotten to Bella to the point where she "laid aside" her lady manners. She jumped out of her chair and stomped over to stand in front Adaunde. "Tell me that you do not honestly believe that! You have done so much! You helped that worker family get the help they needed."  
  
"And you involved the prince in the annual merchant's fair, which helped to ease a lot of ruffled feathers," Maya added.  
  
"And there was the trade alliance you helped to broker between Afrique and Atlantis."  
  
"And there was the earthwake relief in Towana-"  
  
Adaunde raised a hand to stop them. "I acknowledge your points and I can concede that I have been active in issues, although I am still not sure whether or not that is a good thing." She sighed. "I think I am just unsure if I can do this. And I do not want to ruin Terry's life by agreeing to something that I can never-"  
  
"You would ruin his life if you did not agree," Bella said softly as she squated in front of the concerned woman. "Adaunde, you are his life. For him it really is 'Queen and Country' or at least it will be. You are his eyes; he has told me so himself. You see the real him; you see the real in everything. Do not ask him to give up his horizons, his dreams, his new found connection to the world beyond titles. That would destroy him."  
  
More than anything said, it was that speech that got through to Adaunde. "He sees me as his eyes? I see him as my heart. No other man could ever convince me to take this risk." She stood up and begin to smile as her battered joy returned. "I am marrying the man I love. Creator willing, we shall work through any hurtles along the way."  
  
"It was the Creator who placed you here. And I think that he fashioned you for this role."  
  
Adaunde stood, ready to move on to the next step in her life. As she smoothed down her dress one more time, she looked up at the four other women in the room and said, "Thank you. Thank you for helping me see what I could not."  
  
"My lady Adaunde, we are your attendants. You are about to become much more to all of us. It is our responsibility and honor to serve you in any way we can," Ashante observed.  
  
Maya smiled at this, "Yeah, it's like they are ladies waiting to help you."  
  
Adaunde winced. "Do not let that explanation become public," she said to her friend. "If it does, people will start referring to you as my 'ladies in waiting' or something else equally distasteful and it will be a step down for all of you."  
  
And, as the four women began to walk out of the room toward their destination, the one untitled among them could be heard saying, "But it would be a step up for me! Really, it would!"  
  
*******  
  
At the same time, in an anti-room of the ceremonial hall were a group of five men. Unlike the group of five women or like the crowd, whose cheering could be heard through the beautiful windows, this group of men were calm. All five, wearing signals of their rank were quiet and comteplantive about many things.  
  
Finally, Anthony, Duke of Amerwest, had to voice the questions that were running around in his head. "Your highness. Terrius. Are you sure? Are you are sure that you should marry Lady Adaunde? It is not that I think she would make a bad princess, quite the opposite in fact," the duke clarified, "but you really have not known each other for very long. How are you so sure that she is the one?"  
  
"I doubt it matters either way," Lord Sato, Baron of Atlantis spoke up from his chair across the room. He swirled the wine in his glass. "I mean, the position of princess can be very separate and ceremonial when it has to be."  
  
"That is not His Highness's style," Lord Zaire, Earl of Afrique, chimed in. "Any princess he chose would have to be a helpmate and would have to be 'good for the people.' If Terrius was not looking for this, he would have married eons ago."  
  
"None of that answers Anthony's question," Lord Morte-Vida pointed out. "Whatever his highness's internal criteria are, the question is whether two years is long enough to be sure that Lady Anderson, or anyone else for that matter, could meet them."  
  
"I waited two years for the sake of Adaunde and her fears about being queen someday. I knew for sure she was the one after the Towana earthquake."  
  
That managed to shock all of the men in the room. Finally, Anthony managed to get out, "After Towana? But that was a year and a half ago! How did you know that she was the one after barely six months?!"  
  
"The way she responded to the quake," Terrius responded as he once again reflected on the most telling incident in his courtship of Lady Adaunde Anderson.  
  
****  
  
It was once again the warm season, six months after the ball where he met Adaunde. As had become their habit, Terrius waited in the gardern for Adaunde, usually accompanied by her friend Maya, to join him. What made this day different is that while he was waiting a servant rushed out to find him to tell him the news. An area known as Towana, in the polluated region of Europa had suffered a major earthwake that morning. The area was devasted and many people were still trapped. Terrius became more and more grave as the story went on. As the servant was finishing, Lady Adaunde appeared. Approaching with a smile on her face, it fell quickly when she saw his face.  
  
"Terry, what is it? What has happened?"  
  
The young prince ran a hand through his hair, "A massive earthquake hit Towana this morning. According to the early reports, the area is devasted. There are people still trapped." He paused, "I am sure you understand that we cannot have our outing today."  
  
After he had said this, he mentally held his breath. This would be a time for any "true colors" to show through. If she was really self-centered, she would protest.  
  
But, of course, he should have known, even then, that Adaunde had a huge heart. "Of course we shall not have our outing! Part of the kingdom is suffering. Those poor people," she added in a whisper. After a moment of silence (out of respect or because she needed to think, Terrius wasn't sure), Lady Anderson looked up and then grabbed his arm as she began to lead him back to the castle. "The first thing we need to do," she began, "is to get the merchants to donate the things that the victims will need. Do you have any idea what those things might be?"  
  
Terrius shook his head in bemusement, not really sure of what was going on. Adaunde, not processing his confusion, continued. "Well, never mind. We shall just bring the basics with us and we can send word back through Maya about what else we shall need."  
  
"Maya?" Terrius managed to get out in his shock.  
  
"Yes. Maya is an absolutely amazing organizer. She is often placed in charge of merchantry outreach projects. But that is beside the point. Maya can take care of sending reinforcements after we see how bad it is." Still not processing that she had shocked her prince to the core, Adaunde continued, "The next thing we shall need to talk to your parents. I am sure they will want someone to come with us to Towana..." Finally noticing that Terrius was barely moving and not talking at all, she turned to look at him. "Is something else wrong?"  
  
"We are going to Towana?" Terrius asked quietly.  
  
"Of course! You were not just going to wait for reports from servants, were you? That would be nerve-rack...ing," Adaunde stopped speaking when she realized that the question may mean something else entirely. "Am I - am I assuming too much in thinking that I was to accompany you?" She looked down at her hands, which were now clasped in front of her. "I shall still talk to Maya about mobilizing help, but, of course, I shall stay here if that is what his highness wishes."  
  
That finally got through to Terrius. "Of course you are coming with me, if I am going," he insisted, "It is just that I have never gone to the site of a disaster. Father never has done and...it just never occurred to me." Terriue put his hand under Adaunde's chin and lifted her head so that she was looking at him. "Let us go talk to Father; it sounds as if we have a lot of do."  
  
But the strange excitement Terrius had of actually going to help his people faded when they arrived at the scene. Whole buildings that used to reach up to the horizon, now lay in rubble, level to the ground. Roads were unidentifiable. To walk a few feet was to walk around fallen stones, metal, and pieces of structures. A cloud of gray seemed to hang over everything. What was a bustling city was now a wasteland.  
  
As he stood in what was the city center, Adaunde on his left, both of them flanked by high ranking officers in the royal guard, he wondered what he thought he could do in to help with this intense suffering.  
  
"Oh, Creator," Adaunde said quietly next to him. A few moments after that whisper, Terrius felt drops of water hitting the hand Adaunde held. Confused, he turned to his lady to find that she was slightly crying. "Those poor people," she said again. After a few moments, however, his lady seemed to pull herself together. Wiping her tears away, she said, "Well, pity does not do anything but make the eyes of one red. We have work to do."  
  
"Work?" Terrius asked, "What could we possibly -"  
  
"Do?" Adaunde finished. "Well, we shall ask the head of the relief effort. See that lord over there?" Adaunde asked as she pointed to a young lord twenty feet away. He was covered in dust, with his sleeves rolled up. He was talking to someone who looked like a merchant or a medicine man. The activity in the area seemed to be clustered around him. "He is still here and is involved with the people. He is the head of the relief effort. We shall talk to him. He will be able to tell us what we can do." Adaunde began to make her way over to the young man, still holding Terrius's hand. "Watch your step, your highness," she smiled.  
  
*******  
  
Even thinking about Towana over a year later still deeply affected him. The lord had be extremely startled that the prince was there and that he seriously wanted to help. His security detail were shocked at how Adaunde helped to coordinate the relief effort and how she managed to make sure so much was accomplished. Terrius, however, was mostly shocked by what he was able to accomplish himself. He had seen himself as a figurehead, executive in training, and a head of state that he never really thought of himself as useful. But digging out people, helping to move rubble, and just giving people hope by being seen helping showed him that he could be so much more, that he had a responsibility to be so much more. And of course he was going to marry the women with the big enough heart to help him see that.  
  
"Adaunde was the one who got me to the scene of the quake. Adaunde was the one who made sure that that tragedy was not as devastating as it could have been. I was already half in love with her. She made me smile, made me laugh, made me think. And, with Towana, she brought out the best in me. I knew then that no one else could be queen one day. The people of this planet deserve no less than Adaunde. I am very sure about this. That is how I know."  
  
After a few moments, the men in the room nodded. Many had talked about how Towana was different from all other disasters, from its devastating beginning to the extraordinary response from the royals, the merchantry, and, later, the rest of the nobility. Until that point, they had no idea how much Lady Adaunde had been involved in making that happen.  
  
"Well, your highness," Anthony said after a few moments, "we have a ceremony to get you to."  
  
*****  
  
The ceremonial hall was packed, with the crowd spilling out ino the street. A group of men waiting calmly at the front of the room. High ranking people were sitting on every surface that would hold them. Their majesties, King Telluric and Queen Honoria sat the very front of the room, facing the main entrance. Next to them sat Lord and Lady Anderson; Lady Anderson held a calla lily in one hand and a white cloth to wipe her away her happy tears in the other. The group of men that included His Royal Highness, Prince Terrius, was in front of them. Also standing with them was an older man in a long white robe. His presence was a little controversial, but Terrius knew that his Adaunde would not want this any other way.  
  
The entire assembly knew when the future princess arrived by the cheer that arose from outside of the building. Ten minutes after that cheer, the first attendant, the countess of Afrique could be seen walking slowly through the main arch.  
  
"Wow," Maya whispered, "this place is packed."  
  
"Did you expect it not to be?" Ashante asked, with a slight smile.  
  
Talia probably would have contributed to that line of that conversation, if she had not noticed the robed man at the front. "Is that who I think it is?"  
  
Lady Bella leaned around Lady Talia to see and then gasped. "That is - that is a Creationist minister. This is to be a creationist ceremony?!"  
  
"I am afraid that is my fault," Adaunde finally spoke. "I insisted."  
  
"But his highness seems to be okay with it," Ashante observed in the front.  
  
"I knew he converted-" Bella began.  
  
"He converted!" Talia interrupted Bella.  
  
"Well, yes he did. But I did not realize-"  
  
Adaunde sighed. "Please, do not worry so. We are not going to establish a planet-wide religion. In a way, that is rather anti-creationist. One recognizes the Creator on their own, not because they were forced to."  
  
"Oh, we are not concerned," Bella clarified. "We are just amazed at the level of change that you have been able to bring in such a short time." She smiled, "This should be interesting."  
  
As they reached the front, Adaunde reached Terrius and put her hands in his. Then, they turned to the robed man as he began.  
  
"Before the Creator, we gather together this day to witness the joining of futures of Terrius and Adaunde, children of the Creator. Such a joining is not a step to be taken lightly. Vows before the Creator are to be made with seriousness. My lady Adaunde, do you agree to what you are about to do?"  
  
"Yes, as I believe the Creator is leading me," was the response of the woman in white.  
  
"Your royal Highness, Prince Terrius, do you agree to what you are about to do?"  
  
"Yes, as I believe the Creator has blessed me," was the response of the man by her side.  
  
"At this point, make your vows."  
  
"My Lord Terrius. Terry," began Adaunde, "I agree, as the Creator has led me, to join my future with yours. I agree to be faithful, in clear skies and in driving rain. I agree to devote my energies to our time ahead. I promise to love you, honor you, and cherish you, in times of joy and sorrow. I promise to be led by your hand and to stay under your protection. From now until I join the Creator at the end of this journey."  
  
"My lady Adaunde. My eyes," began Terrius, "I agree, as the Creator has blessed me, to join my future with yours. I promise to love you, honor you, cherish you, and protect you to the best of the ability the Creator has given me, in times of ease and hardship. I agree to be faithful, in clear skies and in driving rain. I agree to devote my energies to our time ahead. I promise to listen to your voice and extend my umbrella of protection to wherever you wish to go. I promise to live by the creed, 'Creator, Queen, and country,' from now until I join the Creator at the end of this journey."  
  
"Please kneel," the robed man requested. Adaunde handed her bouquet to Maya, as Ashante and Talia helped her to kneel in her dress. Terrius kneeled next to her. "We turn our hearts to the Creator and our eyes the the solid ground that our Creator has provided for us. Creator, bless the new family before you. As you have led them to this point, lead them on from this point. Bless all that you have granted them and will grant them in the future. So be it." The robed man looked up. "You may rise."  
  
Talia and Ashante helped the young woman to her head. "Now," the robed man said, "you may bestoy the symbol of your new station."   
  
At this point, a young attendant came forward with a delicate sliver and diamond crown. Terrius reached up and and took the wreath of orchids and calla lilies off of Adaunde's head and handed it to Bella. He then took the crown and placed it where the wreath used to sit.  
  
Adaunde looked up at the man, who was now, at the conclusion of two ceremonies, her husband. She shook slightly at some of her nervousness of her new status began to penetrate her joy. Noticing this, Terrius decided to take matters into his own hands. Leaning over, he kissed her gently. After the kiss was over Adaunde beamed up at him...and the assembly hall broke into cheers. The mother of the newly crowed princess was wiping away her tears and her father was trying to blink away his. The king and queen smiled serenely from where they sat. The couple finally turned to face the assembly, as the king rose and said, "May I present my son and daughter, their royal highnesses, Prince Terrius and Princess Adaunde."  
  
At this announcement, the entire room rose. The men bowed and the women curtsied. "I do not think I shall ever get used to this," Adaunde whipsered to her husband as she looked out over a sea of bowed heads.  
  
Terrius smiled down at his wife. "It will be okay. I shall always be with you."  
  
As the people began to rise, Maya whispered to Bella. "So the kiss, that was part of the traditional crowning?"  
  
"No," Bella whispered back, confused. "You mean that it was not part of the Creationist ceremony?"  
  
Maya shook her head.  
  
Talia, overhearing the exchange, laughed quietly. "I think that our prince just started a new tradition."   
  
And with that, four young women and four young men watched their prince and princess walk out of the ceremonial hall to greet the people.  
  
And the cheer that went up when they emerged from the building would be talked about for decades.  
  
-to be continued-  
  
Hey everyone. I'm sorry that this chapter has taken me so long. In fact, I shouldn't even be working on it now, I have a ton of work to do. But I really wanted to write the wedding chapter of Adaunde and Terrius. Admittedly, I am not as happy with this chapter as I was with the last one...so I need your feedback. Please, please, please tell me what you think.  
  
Oh, and all the flowers in the hair of the women are real flowers. Look them up on the Internet and check out what they look like.   
  
And, if they are any fans of the story, I would like to issue a challenge. I would love to have a drawning of the wedding scene, with Adaunde and Terrius (extra points if Bella, Maya, Talia, and Ashante end up in the picture. Double extra points if you get Anthony, Lord Morte-Vida, Baron Sato, and the Earl of Afrique in the picture as well). If you take up the challenge, remember this is a prequel to "A Month as a Timewalker", which means that Adaunde is slightly darker in color than peanut butter and Terrius looks a lot like Terry McGinnes from Batman Beyond and Mamoru from Sailor Moon. Also, if you include the larger group, remember that Bella becomes Botan from Yu Yu Hakesho and that Talia and Anthony are Talia al Ghoul and Bruce Wayne from Batman the animated series. (Oh, and that the Earl and Countess of Afrique are the parents of the person who would later be Max from Batman Beyond...so they should at least be the same ethnicity she is.) I cannot give out any prizes, unfortunately. But I would be amazing grateful. Send the picture to my email address, cemberl@yahoo.com. Thanks.  
  
~December 


	4. how and when to faint

Royal Blue - How and When to Faint 

It had been over two years since the royal wedding, although you wouldn't know that if you wandered around the capital city. The prince and princess still looked like newlyweds and the capital still buzzed with discussion about the wedding. But, even in the joy of the kingdom, life moved on. There were still wars and rumors of wars. People still argued about prices and about status. The only major change is that the people knew that there was a new order in town. They now had active royals willing to listen and help instead of sympathetic royals trying to help without necessarily listening. It was a change that severely shook the status quo. 

And not everyone was happy about it. 

In particular, there were three ladies who were very angry about all the changes, blaming everything on the new princess. These three decided to ban together to do something about their mutualproblem. They called themselves Praxis. 

The first lady of Praxis was Lady Ashley. As the only child of one of the most powerful houses in the kingdom, she was used to getting her own way. For that, and other reasons, she was still angry that she was passed over for the role of princess, especially since she was passed over in favor of a "little nobody". She wasn't quite sure how Adaunde had bewitched the prince, but she knew she could be the next queen if the princess were out of the way. She wanted that crown and she was determined to have it at any cost. 

The second lady of Praxis, Lady Shana, had a more pragmatic objection to Princess Adaunde. As one of the three children of the noble family in charge of the registry and census, it was their job to keep records of the status of all of the families. The stronger the dividing lines between the classes, the more power afforded to her family. For years, her family was respected and revered. But, with the work of one person, so much of the importance afforded to titles had been eroded. The princess was friends with people below her station. She asked for the advice of the military or merchantry on some issues. She addressed workers with respect! These were serious affronts on the current structure of power, all of which were deliberate acts by the princess. If the princess were, therefore, to become injured or die (especially if it appeared to be at the hands of one of the "lowly classes") people would be horrified and believe it was due to "class mixing". The old status quo would quickly be revived, probably with the prince leading the way. For that restoration of her status, Lady Shana would sacrifice much. 

The third lady of Praxis, Lady Ali, never was forthcoming on her objection to the princess. Yet in her burned an intense hatred for the former Lady Anderson. While the others in the group could have been satisfied with Adaunde merely out of the picture...even if it was something as scandalous as a royal divorce, Ali wanted the princess dead and buried. It was just that simple for Ali. And she had put a lot of thought into the ways it could happen. 

The three ladies often met to discuss their next move and ways to discredit the princess. Each, in her own way, had found a way into the orbit of the royal couple. Lady Ashley traded upon her status, making sure she was invited to every event the royals hosted or organized. She even pretended to care about "the suffering people of the planet" to get invited along to relief efforts. Lady Shana used her family's role in record keeping to keep up her involvement with the royals. She even pretended to have some concerns about the class system to arrange to have conversations with the princess herself. How Lady Ali managed to be everywhere the royals were was a mystery to everyone, even the other members of Praxis, but no one questioned it. 

After months of planning, the ladies of Praxis were given a wonderful opportunity to make their first move. The royals had be invited back to Towana to see the progress the city had made since the devastating earthquake almost four years before. While the city had found a way back onto its feet, it had taken this long for much of the rebuilding to occur. The city at that point was three-fourths rebuilt and the locals wanted to share their progress and convey their thanks to the prince and princess that had helped them out so much. Lady Ashley made sure that she was extended an invitation to the outing and Plan A was in motion. 

Plan A: An accident 

It was a sunny day in near the beginning of the warm season. The rebuilding city of Towana had pulled out all of the stops to welcome their saviors, Princess Adaunde and Prince Terrius. The two royals and their entourage were invited both to tour the recovering city and take stock of what aid Towana still needed. The entourage that accompanied the royals were a diverse group of people. Two of Prince Terrius' royal guard, the now general Bryer and general Kyto, were there as security. As the head of the prince's royal guard, Bryer actually wanted to bring more men to protect the prince and princess;  
the princess had somehow managed to veto the idea, insisting that she and her husband were probably safer around the grateful people of Towana than they were in the capital city. When the prince agreed with his wife, Bryer had to stand down, even though he was not happy about the situation. 

The merchantry was present in this group as well, represented by Mistress Maya, close friend of the princess, and Master Allen Calinder. Maya was along both because of her organizational skills and her connections to the princess. Calinder was along as an envoy to represent the mechantry, in order to broker future trade alliances and to establish the state of the economy in Towana. At least that was the official reason. The princess asserted to her oldest friend that she was convinced that Allen was only on the trip because of his feelings for Maya. 

Finally, the nobility were represented by the houses of Imani and Pride, in the persons of the Countess of Afrique and Lady Hubris. Between the two powerful families, both legislative and judicial interests were presented. 

It was not surprising to see Lady Ashante Zaire in the princess' orbit; it was well-known that the countess and the princess had attended the same preparation and that Ashante had been one of the princess' four attendants on the occasion of her wedding. In addition, it had often been said that people who were of Afrique descent, as were Ashante and the princess, were more comfortable in each other's company, due to a shared skin shade. 

The surprise for some was in the more recent presence of Lady Hubris.  
Lady Hubris had acquired a newer interest in service to non-nobility. It appeared to many that she intended to make Towana her new pet project. It was debated among the merchants and workers about how serious Lady Hubris was about her new hobby; although, the recovering city of Towana was not about to become particular about who offered and provided help. 

Soon after their arrival, the group was greeted by Lord Peter Halifax, the governor of Towana and the lord who led the relief effort all of those years ago. In an ensemble that more clearly showed his rank, the young man bowed to the group. "Your royal highnesses, Lady Zaire, Lady Hubris, Master Calinder, and Mistress Tiffany-Cartier. It is wonderful to have you here. The people of Towana are deeply grateful for your help and presence." 

"Lord Halifax," the prince acknowledged as he shook the lord's hand. 

"Peter," the princess smiled. In her usual method, she had ignored the title to communicate with the person. "How are things? You have almost finished rebuilding in only four years! That is an impressive feat." 

"Thank you, your royal highness. But none of this would have been possible without your assistance on our behalf." 

The princess laughed, "Oh, I doubt that, Peter. And how many times do I have to tell you? Please call me Adaunde." 

The prince smiled at the uncertain noble, "It is fine, Halifax. She is not denying the fact that she is a princess; she merely prefers that her friends call her by name." 

The young man smiled, "In that case, I shal try to remember, your...I mean Adaunde." After acknowledging the princess's answering smile,  
Peter Halifax continued, "If you will follow me, I shall provide a little tour of our rebuilt city and tell you a little more about the progress we have made." 

As they toured the city and asked questions, many people approached the group. Very often, they were unable to talk to the princess and prince directly, but they were able to pass messages to the royal couple through the other people in their party. These message varied from the mundane to the serious and, for the most part, were received by the couple untainted. 

There was, unfortunately, one exception. 

Overhearing the princess was interested in touring some construction as well, one of the construction workers stopped Lady Hubris with a warning. "My lady, would you be sure that the princess not enter the southeast construction area? It is not very stable and we don't want the princess to be hurt while here." 

"You do not want her to tour the southeast construction area?" 

"Yes. It is too dangerous. The northwest area is a much safer place to look around," the worker confirmed. 

"Well, thank you so much for the warning. I shall be sure to pass it on to the princess," the noble lady confirmed, her condescension barely held in check. 

"Sorry to bother you, my lady," the worker finished, picking up on the noble's tone. The noble didn't reply. 

A few minutes later, the tour broke up. Lady Hubris pulled the princess away from the group, asking to borrow her royal highness from her conversation with the countess. "It is amazing how much Towana has suffered," the noble began. 

"Yes, and they have come so far. This is thanks to many kind-  
hearted nobles like yourself. I do appreciate your involvement in this project." 

"Think nothing of it, your highness," the noble began. "In fact,  
I wanted to do something for you. I heard you mention to me that you wanted to tour some of the construction. Is that correct?" 

"Yes, it is," the princess confirmed. 

"Well, one of the workers mentioned that we should view the construction in the southeast area," Lady Hubris shared. 

"Wonderful! I shall tell Terrius-" 

"Actually, your royal highness," Lady Hubris interrupted, "the worker did say something about not having a lot of people in that area. I think they may be worried that the construction area is not quite ready for crowds at the moment. Maybe the two of us can tour it ourselves, instead?" 

Excited about the opportunity to see the construction, Princess Adaunde both agreed and managed to convince General Kyto that he was better served staying with Prince Terrius. After a few conversations, the princess and the noble lady set off alone,  
followed only by the slightly worried eyes of a merchant's daughter and a countess. 

Upon arriving at the area, the princess looked it over with awe.  
At the end of an embankment, the beams, pillars, and building supports could be seen emerging from the rubble. 

"Is it safe to take a closer look, do you think?" the princess asked her companion. 

"I am sure that it must be," the lady confirmed. "After you,  
your highness." 

With that, the princess started down the embankment first. She moved slowly, concentrating on each step because of her footwear.  
So involved was she with the decent, she didn't notice that Lady Hubris was not right behind her until she had reached the bottom of the embankment. "Lady Hubris? Lady Hubris? Ashley, where are you?" 

The princess would later say she was not sure if she received an answer, as she then heard a great rumble. Looking up to her left, she saw a boulder fall from a nearby cliff, headed in her direction. She screamed. 

That scream carried all over the city of Towana. It even reached the front of the city hall, where the prince stood with Lord Halifax, Lady Zaire, and the merchants. 

"Was that-?" Lord Halifax began, but the prince was two steps ahead of him. 

"Adaunde," the prince identified the scream with fear in his voice as he took off toward the sound. 

"Dawn!" Maya shouted and she followed closely behind the prince. 

With the royal guard Lady Zaire, Lord Halifax, and half of the people of Towana on their heels, Terrius and Maya reached the edge of the southeastern construction. There they found Lady Hubris gesturing frantically over the edge, babbling about the princess and a rock.  
The prince immediately slide down the embankment, relieved to find his wife only dusty and seated, but disturbed to see a huge boulder only one foot from where she was. 

"Adaunde, are you alright?" 

"Oh, Terry," the princess breathed as she turned to her husband.  
"I am fine, although startled somewhat by the boulder that just missed me." 

"How did you even manage to be in this area?" a flustered Lord Halifax asked as he reached the side of royal couple. "This construction area is practically unsafe. I was told that the workers told you this." 

"Yes, my lord," a nearby construction worker confirmed. "I was told that the message was passed through Lady Hubris." 

"But," the princess began, confused, "Lady Hubris told me that this area was recommended. On the walk over here she may have mentioned something about an unsafe area, but-" 

At the princess' comment, all eyes turned to Lady Hubris. 

"Oh dear," the lady began, "did I mishear? I thought for sure that the worker told me that the southeast was a good safe place for her royal highness to see. I was so sure! I am sorry,  
your highness," she said to Prince Terrius, "I would not want you to worry because the princess was in danger." 

"It is fine, Lady Hubris. The princess is unharmed and it was an honest mistake," the prince said. After that statement, he began to help his wife to her feet, dust her off, and to give her a hug. 

As many workers and merchants of Towana were gathered around the now standing princess, worrying over her safety, Maya noticed a worker shaking his head a few places over. Detaching herself from the crowd, she walked over to where he was in time to hear him say, "Don't buy it." 

"Don't buy what?" Maya asked. 

The startled worker turned to stare at her. Before he could stammer out an apology, Maya cut him off. "It's okay. No one here believes that you or anyone else at Towana meant the princess any harm. But you seem to clearly know something that makes you doubt what is being said about what happened." 

"Mistress Tiffany-Cartier-" 

"Look," Maya interrupted. "I want to keep my friend safe. His highness wants to keep my friend. To do that, we need information.  
We don't want to punish anyone; we just want to protect Adaunde.  
So, will you help me? Tell me what you know?" 

The worker was silent for a few moments. Then he said, "It's just that I'm not sure the lady got the message confused. We workers all know how dangerous this area is. We wouldn't have left the message without being sure that the person we talked with understood it completely. Besides-" the worker looked around the area, "there is a lot of stuff that was dangerous.  
Stuff that coulda fallen or worse. That boulder was actually one of the more stable things on this site." 

Maya turned to look at the path the boulder took after this insight from the worker. She would later tell her father that she wasn't sure, but she thought she noticed a fallen branch at the top of the cliff...but no nearby tree. 

Plan B: The Misfire 

A handful on sunrises after the trip to Towana was the annual Mechantry festival. A holiday for all of the merchants, this was also the time of year that they were able to display their best works.  
There were attractions, entertainment, and much food and fun at the three day event. In the not to distant past, such an event was only acknowledged and attended by the Merchantry class. Such a disregard of their efforts had offended the class. That offence was gradually diminished as Prince Terrius and eventually other nobles began to attend the festival. All the merchants credited the change to Princess Adaunde, who some called "the merchants' princess"  
in private. 

As with past years, the prince and princess were in attendance.  
Along with minimal security, to the consternation of General Bryer, the prince and princess shared company with Mistress Maya Tiffany-Cartier, their graces, the duke and duchess of AmerWest,  
and Lady Registry. 

This was only the second festival that Lady Registry had ever attended and the merchants were a little wary of the lady. The few merchants that had the misfortune of working with the lady didn't understand her presence near the princess. The brunette seemed much more into titles and restrictions than the princess was. The princess insisted that Lady Registry wanted things to change; it was one of the few things about which she disagreed with her long-time friend Mistress Tiffany-Cartier. It was the princess' involvement with Lady Registry that afforded her the little bit of respect and assistance that the merchants gave the lady. 

It was the second day of the festival and excitement was in the air. Touring the craft booths with the duke and duchess, as Terrius was on his way to judge some of the festival competitions, the princess was pleasantly surprised when Lady Registry met up with her party and asked her to walk with her to discuss the class system. Leaving Anthony and Talia with assurances that she would be fine, the princess and noble walked to the open field not far from the archery practice fields. 

It was the whizzing that caught her attention. Many said that if the princess had not heard the quiet sound and turned her head, the arrow would have struck her. As it was, with her turning her head to look over her should and Lady Registry turning her head in the same direction, the arrow only took off a chunk of the noblewoman's long brown hair. 

"What in the horizon-" Adaunde began to ask when a shout was heard from the other end of the field. 

"Dawn! Oh creator, are you alright! That arrow - that arrow was-" Maya was shouting and running and raising alarm at what she had seen from her station on the other side of the green. 

"I am fine, Maya. But, that was sound was an arrow?" the princess asked. 

"It must have just missed us!" Lady Registry exclaimed. 

Turning to her companion, the princess gasped as Maya reached the two women. "Lady Registry! Shana, your hair!" the princess pointed, shocked that some of the lady's hair was missing. 

"It had to be the arrow," Maya commented. 

At that moment, a shout of "Your royal highness, are you unhurt?" could be heard coming from one of the officers charged with the royals' safety at the tournament. 

"Is there any way we cannot mention this to Terrius?" Adaunde asked quietly. 

"There is no getting around this. We've drawn a crowd. Someone is going to tell your husband," Maya answered. "I just hope there aren't any more accidents today. That was a near thing,  
Dawn!" 

Try three: The Extra Ingredient 

Two weeks after she was nearly sent to the Creator by an arrow, and the concern about Princess Adaunde's safety was only beginning to lessen. A mere month ago, the incident at Towana would have been seen as an accident, but now, in light of the fair incident some wondered if the Towana "accident" was an accident. There was talk floating around the capital city of people trying to assassinate the popular princess. 

Different groups disagreed at who was behind such an attack on the royal by marriage. The nobility seemed to think that the workers were trying to kill the princess. They bet that the kindness of the princess had led "the little upstarts" to think they were entitled to more than they were. As the nobles watched how the attempts on the princess affected their prince, they wanted those behind the attempts caught and punished. Some even talked about limiting the "lowly classes" access to the princess to protect her. After all,  
Lady Hubris had said that a worker had told her to send the princess down to the construction area where the boulder almost killed her, and Lady Registry had also almost been hit by the arrow that was aimed at her royal highness. 

The military seemed to think it was the merchants behind the attempt on the princess. After all, it was at their fair where the most blatant attack on the princess took place. And that class had an inside window into the life of the princess through Mistress Tiffany-  
Cartier. The military were concerned enough about the connection that they were having Maya Tiffany-Cartier followed. As to why the merchantry class were plotting to kill the princess, the military was never clear. Their best guess is that the class expected to get more out of their connection to the princess than they did. 

The merchantry seemed to think it was the military determined to kill "the merchants' princess". They knew the military was monitoring Mistress Maya Tiffany-Cartier; Mistress Maya knew she was being followed, but hadn't told her friend the princess because she didn't want Adaunde to worry. They figured the military didn't like the way the princess often vetoed extra security for herself and the prince. The merchants were convinced that if the princess was injured or killed, the military would get their way about security details. But the merchants were split over whethe the military meant to kill or merely harm the princess. She did start out life as a colonel's daughter and the military did have tremendous respect for her father. That made it hard for the merchantry to believe that the military meant the princess but so much harm. 

The workers believed the nobility were trying to kill the princess.  
They came to this conclusion by process of elimination. The workers of the planet clearly adored the princess. She admired the workers and saw them as people, something no other noble or royal had done before her. The merchants clearly adored her as well; her friendship with Mistress Maya alone was reason for the merchants to keep her alive. As for the military, she was one of them once, and they always took care of their own. A few of the officers still referred to the princess fondly as "the Colonel's daughter". The royals also adored her. The king and queen referred to her as their daughter.  
Prince Terrius was clearly besotted, even after two years of courtship and another two of marriage. And, as someone was obviously trying to kill her, it must be the nobility. 

Regardless of all of the theories, everyone worried over their the safety of their princess. And they all, including the prince himself,  
wanted the princess to limit her activities until they knew for sure from where the threat was coming. The princess agreed, not for a moment because she thought that she was in any danger, but because over the past few days she hadn't been feeling like herself. She did not mention to her husband, as he was gun-shy enough about her safety lately. So, she agreed to stick to entertaining friends and acquaintances at the palace and to cancel all the balls but her anniversary one. Everyone thought that among the known in the palace, the princess was safer. 

At times, everyone is wrong. 

That particular day, the princess was having tea with Lady Noir,  
who had asked for an audience to talk. Adaunde didn't know Lady Noir well; at least, she didn't think that she did. Something about the lady did feel familiar, but Adaunde wasn't sure why. 

Welcoming the lady into the drawing room, the princess asked for tea to be sent. As she began to request two of the mini iced grain cakes, a specialty of the palace and a favorite of the princess, Lady Noir interrupted. "Oh, I am sorry, but I am not sure that I can eat the cake. I have not been consuming grain on the advice of a medic," the lady blushed, "And now you think me terribly rude." 

"Not at all," the princess disagreed. "It was my oversight in not asking about such things when we agreed to tea. Madame Tetley, is there something else that we can serve Lady Noir?" 

"We shall find something, your royal highness. Would you still like your grain cake?" the worker asked. 

"Oh please, go ahead," Lady Noir insisted, "I have heard they are a favorite of yours. I would not want to deprive you of the treat." 

"In that case," the princess smiled, "I shall have a cake,  
thank you, Madame Tetley." 

As the worker left the room and the tea was prepared, Adaunde engaged her guest in small talk. It was a rather difficult task,  
in part because her guest wasn't very responsive. It also bothered Adaunde that she felt that she knew the lady from somewhere. With her slightly queasy stomach, Adaunde mentally asked the creator for a quick delivery of the tea. 

As the tea arrived, Lady Noir looked at her host and said, "I have been meaning to ask you something, your royal highness." 

"Yes?" the princess asked as she began to poor tea as the worker quietly left the room. 

"I was wondering how you handle that problem with such grace. It is as if it does not bother you." 

"What problem?" the princess asked as she reached for a slice of the grain cake. 

"The problem of your outspoken servants! Your staff seem to offer their...thoughts more often than is proper." 

The princess paused with the piece of cake still in hands. "I do not think I understand your meaning, Ali, isn't it? What exactly are you asking?" 

"I am asking if you mind that your staff speak their minds?" 

At that statement, the door burst open and a harried kitchen worker rushed into the room. "Don't eat anything your highness! There is something wrong with the cake! It's poison! Poison!" 

"Poison? Are you sure?" the confused princess asked. 

"Yes, your highness! One of kitchen workers fell very ill from the cakes. Please, don't eat anything." 

The startled princess dropped the slice of iced grain cake in her hand. A little shaken, she smiled quietly at her guest. "To answer your question, Lady Noir, I do not mind staff who speak their minds.  
Especially in cases when opinions may strengthen my safety." 

Plan D? 

The anniversary ball almost didn't happen. The attempted poisoning of the princess sent everyone's worry into overdrive. Although no one was sure exactly when the iced grain cake had been tampered with,  
there was no debating that it had contained lethal poison and that,  
if the princess had actually ingested the slices in front of her,  
it would have killed her. 

After being re-assured that his darling wife was alright, Terrius was the first to say that the ball should be cancelled. Adaunde immediately objected; why hurt the many over the actions over a few,  
assuming the series of accidents she had suffered had actually been attempts on her life. Terrius finally agreed to the ball on the condition that Adaunde agreed to a meeting with their inner circle to discuss how to best protect them. She grudgingly agreed, still convinced that Terrius was making too much over what were probably a series of accidents. 

Contrary to how it sounded, the inner circle of the younger royals was not small. Consisting of the people who they trusted the most and those in charge of guarding them, this inner circle numbered almost twenty and represented every class except worker. It was a diverse group of people with a variety of backgrounds. And a group that, while they got along, did not always agree. 

Among those attending this meeting were the royal guard of Prince Terrius. Led by General Stephen Bryer, called by his title of Kunzite, the guard also consisted of General Hort Kyto (Nephrite),  
Sergeant Tyler Putnam (Zoicite), and Lieutenant Shannon Gore (Jedite).  
Each of the four answered both to their titles and names and had a strong commitment and loyalty to their prince. They held their titles until the next heir chose his own guard, at which time the titles would pass to the next princes' guard. Like all high-ranking members of the military class, these four had definite ideas about how to keep their liege safe. 

Also in attendance was the head of the princess' security team, Colonel Howard Clinton. A huge admirer of Colonel and now Lord Bill Anderson, Clinton jumped at the change to protect Anderson's daughter. His job did have a few headaches, given the princess'  
insistence that she didn't need protection or security, but it was usually a pleasant one. The last few weeks, however, had rattled the young colonel. He absolutely hated the fact that any attempts on the princess' life had even gotten off of the ground. If nothing else, he hoped that his royal highness could convince his wife that she needed the security detail Clinton wanted to give her. 

Finally, another member of the military, ensign Marcus Braxton was also in the room. Although almost everyone knew why he was in the room, no one commented on it, for their own reasons. 

Besides the military contingent, the merchantry were present in the presence of Maya Tiffany-Cartier and Allen Calinder. Adaunde had insisted on Maya's presence; she trusted her oldest friend implicitly. The princess insisted on Allen's presence because she trusted his additional insight into the merchantry class...and, if she were honest with herself, she was attempting a little matchmaking as well. 

Of course, the former wedding party of the prince and princess were there as well: the duke and duchess of AmerWest, the earl and countess of Afrique, Baron Sato, Lady Bella and her now husband, Lord Morte-  
Vida. Along with them were the governing family of Towana, Monpella,  
and Skylar, Lord Peter Halifax and his wife Lady Antonia. With Lady Antonia originally hailing from Atlantis, all the major provinces of the planet were represented in the meeting. 

As a political force, the team in that room was an amazing powerhouse.  
They, however, didn't view themselves in that way. They were friends and/or protectors of their royal highnesses, Prince Terrius and Princess Adaunde, which was, in each of their eyes, one of the highest honors possible. 

After the last person arrived and the doors were closed, Terrius began the meeting as the last person seated themselves. "Thank you all for coming. I realize that this is taking some of you away from duties or from preparing for tomorrow night's ball, but I hope you understand the reasoning for this meeting." 

At his opening, the room nodded, except for his wife, who mumbled under her breath, "I still think that you are worrying too much." 

Ignoring his wife's editorial comment, the prince returned to his objective. "I think almost all of you," he began as he looked briefly at the princess, "will agree that, in light of the attempts on the life of the princess that we need to make some serious decisions about the activities in which we engage." 

"Attempts?" Baron Sato asked. "As in plural? Your highness, I was only aware of the attempted poisoning." 

"We do not know that was a poisoning," the sitting princess began to object. But the those seated in the room didn't listen to her objections. 

"There have been two attempts on Princess Adaunde's life," General Bryer began. As Maya began to nod in agreement, the general continued, "Besides the poison in the grain cake, that arrow at the merchantry fair nearly took off her head!" 

"Wait a minute!" Maya suddenly stopped nodding to object. "If General Bryer is counting that incident at the fair, which was clearly an accident, then there have been three attempts to kill Dawn." 

"Three!" Colonel Clinton, General Bryer, and Lord Wayemeyer shouted at once. 

"Yes, three." Maya replied to their unspoken question. Turning to her childhood friend, she continued, "I don't believe you ended up in that Towana construction zone by accident, and I think that boulder was 'helped' off of the ledge." 

Before the room could erupt into more conversation, the prince held up his hand. After he had everyone's attention, he started to speak. "Whether we agree on the number, one attempt or three attempts, it is as at least one attempt too many for my piece of mind." 

Seeing Colonel Clinton about to speak, the prince rushed on. "Before you ask, Clinton, this is not a reflection on your ability to protect the princess, nor is this meeting to ask for your resignation.  
I know my wife," Terrius smiled. "She is not the easiest person to protect. Beyond that, each of these incidents happened in places that we all thought were safe, when she was with people we trusted." 

As the colonel began to relax, Terrius jumped to the next point,  
"And it is because neither Adaunde or I saw the danger that we have a problem. What clearly needs to happen is some kind of vetting process before we agree to go anywhere or see anyone." 

Until that point, the princess had stayed facing forward in her chair, in part to ward off the headache and nausea that she attributed to the conversation. The threat of a vetting process,  
however, was enough to shock her into quick head and body movements. 

"Hold on," the princess interrupted her husband. "A vetting process?  
A traditional vetting process! Are you serious?" Turning quickly to stare accusing at her husband, she continued, "I would never be allowed out! They would not let me go to merchantry fairs or to see the workers. Terrius, I do not think I would be able to live like that! I-" 

"Adaunde," the prince said as he sat down next to his wife. "Trust me. It will not be at traditional vetting process." As his wife quieted, the prince continued, "It will not be a traditional vetting process, because the people doing the vetting will also be serving as our advisors. 

"This team shall be made up of a male and a female, so that we may receive a balance point of view. Adaunde and I would have to trust both members of this team, and this team would have to be able to trust each other and work together. Beyond that, this team would need to be trusted by and be able to communicate with everyone in this room, as well as my parents. 

"This team is very important part of our national security. If nothing else, this month has taught me that if Adaunde is threatened,  
I am quite willing to do anything, regardless of what it is. Similarly, if I were threatened-" 

"I would become very emotional and, therefore, useless," Adaunde conceded. "I do see your point." 

"And when we have children..." 

Maya and Adaunde both shuttered at that point. Knowing how Adaunde reacted to threats to her own parents, if someone was ever stupid enough to threaten her children, there would be hell to pay...and Adaunde wouldn't be in the mental state to be able to control how far reaching the effects of her vengeance would be. 

"You make a very good point, your royal highness," Lord Halifax agreed. "I take it that you already have someone in mind?" 

"Yes, I do, Lord Halifax. I have not asked them to serve in this capacity before this meeting. I thought that we all could prevail on their cooperation here. 

"The people I have in mind," the prince began, "are people we both trust completely. They can work with ease with everyone in this room. As the male and female are also husband and wife,  
clearly they trust each other and can work together. So it is for those reasons, that I ask Lord and Lady Morte-Vida to serve as our royal advisors." 

After a pause, the princess broke the silence. "Terry, that actually makes sense. We know that Bella and Nippon would only have our best interest at heart, Bella clearly understands both of us, and," the princess smiled at the surprised newlyweds,  
"this is just the leverage you would need to get that estate east of the captial city on which you have had your eye." 

"Your highness, how did you know we were even looking at that property?" Lord Nippon Morde-Vida asked. 

"Terrius, are you sure you did not discuss this with Adaunde previously? The last advantage she mentioned sounded almost practiced," Lady Bella Morde-Vida asked her best friend. 

"Am I to assume that your questions mean that you will agree to this opportunity to serve?" Terrius asked. 

Bella and Nippon looked at each other for a second. Then Nippon said, "We would be honored, your highness." 

"And you get to hit the ground running with their anniversary ball.  
Maybe you can talk her highness into paring down the guest list"  
Colonel Clinton joked good naturedly. 

"Now Howard-" the princess began, only to pause to let her husband close out the meeting. Soon after the end of the meeting, knowing there were enough military in the room to keep her highness safe for the moment, Colonel Clinton rushed to a security meeting of his own. As the others in the meeting slowly began to make their way to their separate destinations, the princess walked up to Maya. 

Smiling at her friend, Adaunde said, "I told you that Terry worries overmuch about me. Although this idea of advisors is a good one." 

Maya just shook her head at her friend. "Of course he worries about you! These attempts on your life - and, yes, that is what they were,  
Dawn! - aside, the man loves you. Your safety and happiness are important to him." Maya paused to look over her friend. "And he may be right to worry," she added quietly. "Are you okay, Dawn? You are looking a little pale." 

"I am fine, Maya, I promise. A little discomfort is normal for me at this time of the year," the princess smiled comfortingly at her friend. 

"I still think you should see a medic. After that incident with the poison, it's possible that-" 

"Maya! I am fine. I only touched one slice; I did not ingest anything. The medic assured us all that the poison could not pass by mere touch-" 

"Although we would all feel better if you visited the medic again,  
just in case," the male voice of the current Nephrite said off to the princess' right. 

Turning toward the sound, the princess smiled. "General Kyto." 

"Your royal highness," the general returned with a bow. 

"General, you could actually do me a great service," the princess said with a sudden smile. 

"And what would that service be, your highness?" 

"Besides prevailing upon you to call me Adaunde?" the princess laughed. "You could remove the tail you have on Maya." 

"You knew about it?" General Kyto and Maya said at once. After processing Maya's response, the surprised general turned to the merchant's daughter. "You were aware of... our monitoring activities as well, Mistress Tiffany-Cartier?" 

"Did you forget who my best friend is? Long before she became a princess, I was constantly around military when I was around her. I picked up a few things," Maya responded. "That, and you sent an ensign to follow me. I'm sure Braxton will be very talented later in life, but he's new and I'm observant," Maya shrugged. Then she turned to her friend, "But I had no idea that you were aware of this. Obviously, the general didn't tell you. Why didn't you say anything?" 

"You did not mention it," Adaunde answered. "And, as I assumed this was done out of misplaced concern for my safety," she paused,  
raising an eyebrow at the general. At his reluctant nod, she continued, "I did not wish to upset you or for you to conclude that we did not trust you." 

Maya snorted. "Like I would ever believe that you didn't trust me.  
But I still think you ought to see a medic." 

"I do agree, your highness," General Kyto smiled. "And I shall have the, ahem, tail removed from Mistress Tiffany-Cartier"  
he promised. 

"Thank you, general." 

And with that one meeting and appointment, the ball was allowed to move forward. A celebration of the third anniversary of Terrius and Adaunde, the guest list was extensive, including workers, merchants, and military as guests. The main ballroom was full and the attendees all looked forward to see the prince and princess. 

An hour into the event and the anticipation was high. The king and queen had been presented earlier in the evening and the prince and princess now stood off in the wings ready to make their own entrance. 

The prince was resplendent in his royal blue formal attire. His princess wore an original Tiffany-Cartier at the insistence of her friend. The emerald green gown was cut to narrow at the waist and flair at the hip, a style that some merchants were now calling "the princess cut". It had a small built-in train and shear quarter-length sleeves. Just below the right shoulder was a hand-stitched design,  
a calla lily laying above a purple orchid. When the princess had exclaimed over the dress when Maya presented it to her, she had teared and the design, a physical reminder of the noble and royal status she now held. 

As they were announced, the princess put her hand on her husband's arm and they began their slow walk from the wing to the dais. After a few steps, Adaunde spoke quietly to her husband, "Terry, are you not moving a little fast? I feel as if the room is spinning." 

Concerned, the young prince looked at his wife, "I am walking sedately. Are you unwell? Should I-" 

"Terry, I am fine," the princess insisted. As they continued their walk, the princess suddenly uttered an awed, "Oh!" 

"Adaunde? What is it?"

"Terry, I am sorry." 

Such a statement worried the prince. "Sorry? About what are you sorry?" 

The princess gave a serene smile to her husband, "I think I may slip from the world for a moment. I have never done such a thing before. I think I would enjoy the experience, if I did not feel so out of control." 

"Slip from the world? Adaunde?" the prince began to ask in concern as they couple stopped a few feet short of the dais and his parents.  
As the princess began to slump, his response became louder and sounded more agitated. "Adaunde! Oh creator, help!" the prince shouted as he caught his wife and lowered them both to ground. 

The slipping spell from the princess immediately sent several groups of people into action. General Bryer and Colonel Clinton both noticed the princess' slump from across the room. The current Kunzite along with the head of the princess' security were by the prince's side before he had caught the princess. The lord and lady Morte-Vida had also noticed the princess slip. 

"Go and keep Terrius calm; I shall retrieve additional help"  
Lady Bella asked her husband. So, as Nippon quickly moved to be by the prince's side, his wife shouted clearly in the ballroom,  
"Is anyone present a medic?" As a young medic presented himself, the blue-haired noble turned advisor grabbed his hand and dragged him to the fallen princess. 

Of all of the commotion around her, the princess remained oblivious,  
only vaguely hearing as she completed her slip, "She shall be fine,  
your royal highness. Now if we can just get her a little air while I look her over, hm?" 

Hours later, the princess awoke in a medical room in the palace. At her stirring, a health worker in the corner smiled, "Welcome back,  
your royal highness. I shall alert his royal highness that you are awake. Then I'll send in the medic." The young woman smiled,  
"you gave us all a little scare last night. Seeing you awake should ease his highness." 

Seconds after the girl left, Terrius rushed in the room. Wrinkled with ruffled hair and a haggarded looking face, it was clear that the young prince had spent the last hours worrying. "Adaunde,  
thank the creator you are awake," the prince said as he crossed the room to sit next to his wife's bed, stopping to take hold of her hand before he sat down. 

"Terrius, what has happened? The last thing I remember-" 

"You slipped from the world for a few minutes, for which you apologized beforehand. After a medic began to attend you, you were groggy and disoriented before you fell into some kind of sleep for hours. The medic has run some tests; he insists you are well,but he wanted to tell us the results after you had awakened." 

"While you would not believe I was fine until I spoke to you, is that it?" the princess smiled. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "The ball! Is everyone still-" 

"The ball was last night, Adaunde. We sent everyone home after your collapse. Before you begin-" Terrius held up a hand as he noticed his wife was attempting to sit up, "we shall inform everyone that you are well. Just rest here until the medic returns." 

"Oh," the princess said quietly. Turning to her worried husband,  
the princess found herself asking, "You were not too hard on the medic and health workers, were you Terrius?" At her husband's embarrassed blush, Adaunde shook her head. "Promise me that you will apologize to all of them," the princess insist. 

"That is not necessary, your royal highness," came a voice from the door, "We understood. He was a worried husband; they are always difficult to work with." 

"So, what is ailing my wife?" the prince demanded. 

"Terrius!" the princess objected from her bed. "I am fine." 

"Fine people do not suddenly slip from the world and their anniversary balls!" 

"Actually, you are both correct," the medic interrupt. "The princess is correct in saying that nothing is wrong with her.  
But slipping spells do not just happen spontaneously." 

"What are you saying?" the princess asked the medic. 

"We ran a few tests, and, having looked at then, I decided to share the news with both of you." 

"News?" the prince questioned warily. 

The medic smiled, "I would not worry about the occasional slipping.  
Future mothers tend to do so every once in a while, especially when they are stressed." 

"Future mothers?" the princess asked tentatively. 

"May I be the first to congratulate you, your royal highnesses,  
on the coming addition to your family." 

"I am...I am with child?" the princess whispered. At the medic's nod, huge smiles broke on the couples faces. Terrius kissed his wife and then rested his forehead on hers as they both cried happy tears. One of his hands held the princess' right hand. The other hand now rest reverently on her still flat stomach. 

"Thank the creator," the prince said quietly and he sat with his wife. 

As the couple became lost in their own joy, the medic quietly left the room. There was plenty of time to talk to the couple later.  
The medic was sure, however, that he would never forget the joy that he saw in those brief moments after the royals were given the news that in a few moon-cycles they would be parents. 

- to be continued - 

See, I haven't abandoned this story. My writer's block on this project seems to be temporarily broken. I do have plans for at least twelve more chapters, which will trace the royal family of earth to the fall of the Silver Millennium. The Queen Serenity back story will be in a separate prequel that I will undertake at another time. Both Queen and Princess Serenity will show up in much later chapters of this story, but my main focus in Royal Blue is the royal family of Earth. And, because I like them all so much, I plan to put them through a lot. 

Please let me know what you think. Read and review or drop me an email at Thanks for reading.   
December 

PS: "Slipping from the world" is how people in this era refer to what we would call fainting. It does not refer to dying. 

I also would like to apologize in advance for any formatting issues. does not like to recognize my breaks and paragraphs when I upload documents, unfortunately. 


	5. how to grieve

Royal Blue - how to grieve 

It had been almost six years since the people of the kingdom had held deep concerns for the safety of their princess. Fears that certain groups meant the princess harm had not completely disappeared,  
but, for the last five years, the royals and the rest of the kingdom had a new distraction.

The distraction's name was Endymion Terra, Prince of Earth.

The first born son of Prince Terrius and Princess Adaunde,  
Endymion was the talk of the capital city. He looked almost exactly like his father had at his age, but his smile was completely his mother. Even at five years old, he had the royal grace of his father and the curiousity still actively present in his mother. Some in the military also insisted that the young prince also had the military bearing of his grandfather, the former colonel.

"He's going to be a little heart-stealer," his "auntie" Maya insisted.

"Like his father," the princess had agreed.

Although the young prince was much like his father in apperance he was being raised rather differently. Like all royals, Endymion did have a nanny and protection. Unlike any royal before him, however Endymion was exposed to and interacted with the people of the kingdom since his birth. His parents often took him with them on state visits meetings with the military, merchantry talks, and to interact with the workers. It drove those charged with their protection a little crazy, but the princess insisted that detached royals were not effective royals...and the prince wanted to spend more time with his son than his father had been able to spend with him.

All in all, Prince Endymion was a rather well-rounded boy for a royal. He would help the servants clean his room in the palace. He was fasinated by the toy making merchants and could quietly watch them for hours. He liked going to military reviews and watching the captains and colonels march.

And the young boy adored his family. His face would light up at the sight of his father. He still let his mother hug him in public. He'd listen quietly to his paternal grandfather and even try to figet less for his paternal grandmother. Yet his greatest love was for his maternal grandparents.

Grandmere Kyanna seemed almost an amazing fairy godmother to the young boy. She always had his favorite baked sweets...and managed to slip them to him, even when his mother said no. She would dig in the dirt with him, had taught him how to make mud pies, and understood that he would often tear around the house.

Grandfather Bill was the grandfather of any little boys dreams. The former colenel taught the boy some military manuvers as well as how to hit a target, though they had only used small foam balls to alleviate the concerns of Kyanna and Adaunde. Grandfather Bill also told the greatest stories about battles and strategies. Endymion could sit happily in his grandfather's lap and request story after story, usually with his equally interested mother sitting nearby. His grandfather had even taught the young boy to salute, which the little prince would often practice in his room after everyone thought he was asleep.

And, because he and his mother were on their way to visit the Andersons, little Endymion was a bundle of excited energy. Asking his mother to hurry, the young boy was almost pulling his mother through the streets, with Colenel Clintion and Lieutenant Gore flanking them both.

Later some would ask if the little boy had known something or if the creator had shared something with the boy that he hadn't shared with anyone else. What was clear was his shout of joy was the last thing someone dear to them all heard. And that, if he had moved at the pace his mother had wanted, his joyful shout wouldn't have been heard by that person as he left the living world.

That particular sunrise seemed like any other for Bill and Kyanna. Although they had been nobility for thirty one years, both had been born into military families and still operated much in that vein. Breakfast was a percise enterprise,  
served exactly twenty minutes after sunrise. The house was ordered neatly and efficiently and ran pretty much like clockwork.

Bill, however, knew this sunrise was different. His sunrises and sunwanes had been different for a few years now.  
He had not shared with his wife the extent of what the medic had told him on his last visit, only because there was nothing she could do. He wanted to enjoy his mooncylces with a happy and unstressed family, so he refused to worry them about situations that they couldn't change.

That morning he knew his daughter and grandson were going to visit. Normally, such a visit cheered him. His little girl was now such a graceful lady, with amazing aim. She had found a great man and was happy, somehow becoming a princess in the bargain. And her little boy was such a treasure. He was glad that he had had a chance to meet the little boy. Their visits were always full of laughter and love.

But today was different and the former colenel struggled between his selfish desire to see his daughter and grandson and his selfless need to protect them from what would probably happen that day. Regardless, of his final decision, there were some things that needed to be said.

As his wife rose from the table to clear off the remains of breakfast, Bill said, "Kyanna, you do know where my statement of intents is, don't you?"

His wife turned to him with a slightly exasperated look on her face, "Yes, Bill. Though I don't why you have continued to harp on this for the last two mooncylces! You aren't even on active duty anymore!" As she put some dishes in the washbin, she muttered, "Kyanna, do you know where this is? Kyanna, be sure you have that. One would think he'd gotten deployment orders!"

Bill smiled at his wife's back. He really wasn't worried about Kyanna. She was a sergeant's daughter and a colenel's wife,  
a rather strong woman all told. She was one of the blessings that he thanked the Creator for every morning. If he could have spared her this last, he would have. Not because she couldn't handle it, but because he would rather she not have to. He had once joked that he should meet the Creator first because his wife would carry on more bravely than he could. As that day approached,  
he realized that he shared more truth in that jest than he could have guessed.

He did worry about his daughter, however. She had her mother's strength, but his heart. He worried how all of this would affect her. And he wondered if his selfish desire to hear her voice one more time was fair. "Kyanna, you know, I am feeling a little tired. Maybe we should ask our daughter the princess not to visit today?"

His wife turned around, "You are jesting, correct? I mean Bill, you live for those visits! You complained two weeks ago that we never see enough of our Dawn anymore!" Kyanna shook her head, "If this is just an attempt to get out of helping me with the washing up, it won't work colenel. Lord or not, you shall still help me. And that's an order."

Kyanna would have made a great commanding officer, Bill was sure of it. The old military man smiled. "Did I ever thank you for doing such a good job raising our daughter?"

The love of his life laughed and she sat back down at the table. "You act like I had to do it alone! You helped raise her just as much as I did. That is probably why she is such a good shot. It's also why she gives her security detail fits"  
his wife smiled. "But you are right. She turned out pretty okay."

"We had a good run, didn't we?"

"As parents?" his wife asked, not understanding the wider context of her husband's question. "Yes, but we aren't finished. Just because she's married with a child of her own does not mean we aren't still raising her. At the end of her last visit she was trying to fix her hair and she looked at me and said, 'Mama, help!'. There I was, fixing the hair of a thirty-four year old princess. You are a parent as long as the creator keeps you here...but we won't tell our Dawn that just yet."

Looking over at her husband, Kyanna did notice that he seemed a little paler than normal. "Honey, are you feeling alright? Are you really tired enough to call off Dawn's visit?"

As his wife questioned his health, Bill thought over what she had just said. He agreed that you are a parent from the time you have children until you meet the creator. What he also remembered from his wife's story is that you are also always a child. Burying his parents had been a painful experience for him. Kyanna had cried for days after losing her father..and neither of them had actually been with their parents the day they died. He didn't think his wants should trump his daughter's needs.

"Yes, actually. I think I am."

His wife rose with a slightly worried expression on her face.

"I'll contact the palace now. If they haven't already left, they can probably be stopped in transit." Looking back at her husband, she added, "Maybe you should go have a rest in the library."

"Maybe I will," Bill agreed. Before rising to leave the table, he called his wife back. "Kyanna, I love you. I always have."

His wife smiled, a combination of her affection for him and her worry shimmering in her eyes. "I love you, too, you old soldier, but don't say things like that! You'll worry me with all of your flattery!"

The old man smiled. He didn't mean to worry her, and it wasn't flattery. But he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to share that sentiment in an hour.

As he slowly rose from his chair, he felt the familiar pain in his chest. As his wife hadn't completely left the room to contact the palace yet, she heard his cry of pain and saw him grab his chest. "Bill, what's wrong? Bill?"

As the pain got worse and his vision blurred, he felt his wife's arms around him. "Bill!"

As the decorated colonel and now lord closed his eyes for the last time, he heard the two things he had selfishly wanted to hear before he met his Creator, the voice of his daughter and the voice of his grandson crying out in joy. Mercifully for him,  
he left this plane before hearing his wife's third shout of fear and pain.

"Daddy, Mama? We are here!" the princess shouted as she entered the empty front room of the house. She shook her head internally. Her parents were probably still trying to eat breakfast, but Endy had insisted with the strength of any five year old that they had to go early.

"Grandpa Bill!" the excited voice of the object of her thoughts shouted in greeting. The princess probably would have told her son to say hello to his grandmere Kyanna if this were a regular visit.

But this was not a regular visit.

When asked about that day much later in her life the then queen would say that it was amazing what was clear and what was hazy in her memory, and that most of her actions that day were more intinct than anything else. Her first move was clearly intinct.

Seconds after her son voiced his greeting, she heard her mother screaming her father's name from the kitchen. Spinning around, she shoved her son into the arms of Lieutenant Gore and held up one finger to request that the royal guardwomen to protect her son. Then, shouting "Mama! Mama, what is wrong?" she ran toward the kitchen with Colenel Clinton right behind her.

While Adaunde was never able to completely recount what happened in the next few minutes, it was engraved on Colenel Clinton's memory. In some ways, as he so looked up to the colonel, it was as hard for him as it was for the princess to witness. For that reason, he seemed to remember it as a series of military maneovers and protocal.

Arriving in the kitchen less than a split second after "precious ivy", the code often used by those in charge of protecting the royal family to refer to the princess, Clinton first scanned the room for potential threats. There were no signs of forced entry.  
There were no strange occupants of the room. Nothing was broken and there was no smell of gas or presence of a hazard like fire.

Next, the colonel took note of the action in the room.

Precious Ivy had reached the side of her mother, "lady arms," who was on the floor holding an apparent unresponsive former colonel. The former soldier wasn't bleeding, but was amazingly pale. If given a choice, and if he had been able to react faster, he wouldn't have wanted Precious Ivy touching the former colonel until any and all threats could have been identified, but the princess was on the floor beside her father before Clinton had completely crossed the kitchen threshold.

"Lady Anderson, what-" the military man began to ask, but the former colonel's wife cut him off.

"Colonel, excuse me, Lord Anderson had collasped. He held his chest as he fell. Call the militarty watch. And follow procedure H."

Since "Lady Arms" had responded with the percision of a commanding officer, Clinton responded like a subordinate without thinking. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am," he replied, as he left the room.

Back in the front room, he ran into the two others that had accompanied the princess on the trip. "Clinton, what has happened?" the Jedite of the royal guard demanded of him as she held protectively onto the heir to the heir of the throne.

Knowing that he had to reach the military watch AND that the Lietenant did actually out-rank him due to her assignment - so he couldn't just ignore or breeze by her, Clinton simply said, "I'm contacting the military watch."

"The watch?" the military woman said in shock. "What procedure are you oporating under?"

In some recountings of what happened, many non-military wondered at this seemly pointless question. Some debated that the half-second delay could have saved Lord Anderson's life, although every medic that examined the former military man concluded that he had probably died before Col. Howard Clinton had made it into the kitchen. Those of military background, however, knew how crucial that question was. With an answer of just one letter, the colonel could tell the lietenant if there were still threats in the house, whether she needed to take the prince to a safer location, if there was an attack on the way, and how many people were injured or dead.

"H," was the colonel's reply before he left the house to call for the watch. As he left, the lietenant stood, holding her precious cargo. And when the cargo politely asked his "Auntie Shannon" if he could see his grandfather yet, Jedite of the Royal Guard tried not to tear up as she said, "Not right now, your highness. Not right now."

Once, a long time ago, an officer's wife had told Kyanna that all military wives needed a funeral to say goodbye to their husbands.  
For the longest, Kyanna thought that only applied to the wives who lost their husbands in battle. As that was how she lost her own father, she knew how much her mother needed that funeral. A rock up until that point, she completely fell apart at the funeral...but the sergeant's wife needed to fall apart then to pull herself together to live another four years, long enough to see the birth of her granddaughter.

For women who lost their husbands in other ways besides armed conflict, Kyanna always figured that they could fall apart as soon as they got the word of the loss of their other half.

She was wrong.

When her Bill collapsed in her arms, Kyanna didn't have much time to process anything before her daughter and the head of her daughter's security came rushing into her kitchen. With her mind not really being able to focus on anything, she slipped into the military procotal that had surrounded her for most of her life, giving orders like a commanding officer. And she had to. She was the first one on the scene; she was the only one who would know under which protocal to operate.

She quickly had to move from commanding officer to military mother. Her only daughter was moving from concerned to hysterical.  
As the military watch arrived in her kitchen, Kyanna found herself acting in a way she promised herself she never would after her mother had treated her in a similar rough way when her father died. She pulled her daughter aside, commanded that she stop crying and pull herself together as not to dishonor her father. Then she reminded her daughter of her own child.

From military mother she moved to concerned grandmother, as she and her daughter went to collect Endymion from his protector while the military watch continued with the task of collasped colonel. The young boy was very confused and his mother was too overwhelmed to explain much of anything. Kyanna found herself telling the young prince a story while his distraught mother talked to the current Jedite and then contacted the palace.

After that, the older woman think she just went numb for a few days. Somehow, she was able to answer the questions put to her. In those moments, she was grateful that Bill had harped upon where his statement of intents was located. She could recall his requests about his funeral...half of which couldn't be honored because of who he was. As the father of the current princess,  
his funeral was turning into a bigger production that the simple William Anderson would have wanted, but Kyanna could only answer the questions put to her, and not much more.

Somehow, she ended up housed in the palace. Someone had packed for her. Someone made sure she was fed. Her son-by-marriage had come to talk to her and hugged he before he left. Her king and queen had come to talk to her and shared their sympathy over her loss. A parade of military came through to offer respects. Kyanna didn't really remember much of this. It didn't seem real.

Yet, on the day of the funeral, wearing a black dress, a black veil, and holding a white calla lily in one hand and her daughter's hand in the other, something unstuck. Something made everything seem real again. And as the tears ran down the military wife's face, she realized that this was her one chance to say goodbye to her husband, the father of her only child, the love of her life.

The funeral was a large and somber occasion. It started just after sunrise with the tradition playing of "The March" by the military band. "The March" was played with the rising of the sun on the day of all military funerals; the melancoly song was to remind all in the area that they had lost a hero.

Soon, after the last strains of the song died in the air themselves, workers and merchants emerged to line the streets between the palace and the Creationist cathedral, where the service would be held. Different sects called the services to remember the dead different things. To the Creationists, who counted among their number the Andersons and the prince and princess, this service was called "the sendoff". For them, they were sending their loved one to back to the Creator. Not that the belief made anything easier.

Those gathered in the streets wore black. Women covered their faces with veils. The streets were silent, which was broken only by the occasional weeping. The men stood still, eyes forward and sad. Those that lined the streets knew that they could be standing for hours at least, but they felt that they had to honor the great man they lost in some way...and support their beloved princess in any way their stations would allow them.

An hour after the lower classes had gathered in the streets, the military continued their honoring of their own by marching the stretch from the colenel's house the the cathedral behind a riderless horse. The legion directly behind the horse was the same that the colonel had commanded thirty-five years ago. Generals, lietenants, captains, colonels, sergaents came from as far away as Towana to the service.

As those of military rank reached the steps, ten men in the colonel's former legion stood at attention at the front of the cathedral, in place to continue their final service to Colonel Anderson.

At this point, the nobles began arriving. Like the everyone else, excepting the military who were in uniform, the nobles wore black. Unlike the others, few of them seemed to be very moved. Their presence was more a show of support for the princess than out of any caring for colonel and a lord that few had interacted with or heard much about, besides the incident many mooncycles ago that had saved the king's life. The few nobles who knew Lord Anderson the most well would be arriving with his family.

Nonetheless, the nobles entered the Cathedral in silence, out of respect for the life of a hero. Many didn't know what to except of the service, but few thought it would be a traditional military send-off. The hero whose life they came to honor was the father of the princess, after all.

Finally, from the castle, the procession of the family began. Leading the way from the castle were six military men,in dress uniform, carrying the vessal that held the body of Colonel William Anderson, lord of the house of Fidelity. Those six men included unknown military men, such as Private Braxton, and well-known military men, such as Colonel Howard Clinton and Sergeant Jamison. The six men moved with persion and in silence, and silence followed in their wake.

As per tradition, those walking behind the vessal walked in this order. First came the widow and any children of the deceased. Following the children were their spouses and any grandchildren. Following the grandchildren would be any living parents and siblings. Finally, following the family were close friends of the deceased, who lined up in order of their rank, the lowest ranking friend bringing up the rear.

As the vessal could be seen over the horizon, many people anxiously looked at the two women walking behind the vessal. From what word had gotten out of the castle, those gathered on the street expected to see a picture of strength and one of despair. It had been said that the princess was near hysterical upon discovering her collasped father and had been almost inconsolable since. It was said that she was only able to pull herself together in three cases. She somehow managed to be politely formal with her husband's parents, the king and queen, seemingly to fall back on her noble training as a way to interact without thing. She was able to function while being held in the arms of the prince, as if she felt safe there.

And, of course, she was able to pull it together when holding her son. Marching behind her father with her husband behind her,  
many worried if the princess would have the strength to make it to the cathedral.

Lady Anderson, on the other hand, had been described as a rock. She had been able to do all that was asked of her.She was the one who told the watch what to do when they reached her house. She knew what her husband wanted and was able to answer all of the questions put to her. She seemed so in control that some had commented that she would have made a great commanding officer. In fact, according one member of the military watch, Lady Anderson got more replies of "Ma'am, yes ma'am," than Lietenant Shannon Gore, which was significant, given that Gore, as Jedite to the current prince, was the highest ranking woman in the military class. Most people expected that the mother would be supporting the daughter into the service.

That is not what they saw. For the first two-thirds of the silent walk, mother and daughter looked like most mourners in a military funeral. They both stood straight with military posure, and, while the princess moved with the grace of a noble, her mother's walk was the almost march of most military wives.

Both were dry-eyed...at least until they were within sight of the cathedral.

As the vessal neared the cathedral, the ten military men stood at attention. One of the men turned to the others and the last military act of honor was underway.

"Attention!" the sergeant said. "Present-"

"Present," the nine other men echoed as they withdrew their swords.

"Arms." the sergeant finished. Nine sword were lifted into the air to create an archway. The sergeant nodded, moved back into place, and removed and lifted his own sword.

At the word 'present', Lady Anderson froze. She looked down a the calla lily she held in one hand and her daughter's hand which she clasped in the other, and she began to cry. Princess Adaunde moved quickly to prop up her mother, as she looked around for someone to help them into the cathedral. Her husband, the prince, moved to help her, but she shook her head. Instead, she motioned for someone near the back of the procession. And, when Mistress Maya Tiffany-Cartier moved to the front and supported Lady Anderson on the other side, the crowd nodded at the rightness of it. Maya was, because of her friendship with Adaunde, a second daughter to the family. It seemed only fair that she would be the one to help the Andersons into the church.

It was in this way that family arrived and the send off began.

Lady Anderson cried through most of the service, quiet only to hear the send-off words from the creationist minister and to hear the charges. The princess, while clearly saddened, was not crying, but straining to take in everything. But for the carrying looks and hand squeezing from her husband, the princess may have injured herself through concentrating too much.

After the minister uttered the traditional phrase, "Away from us, but returned to home. A vessal returned to terra, a soul returned to its maker," it was time for the reading of the final charge. And, as the prince rose to kneel before the vessal and the minister, there was a gasp that echoed through the cathedral.

The final charge was a military hold-over. Often written by the deceased before dying, the charge was given to the military next in command, or, when available, to a son or son-in-law. Many had assumed, since the prince was not of the military class, that Anderson would leave his charge to someone else. When such a possiblity was first mentioned to the prince, he objected, wanting to receive the last instructions from the man he admired and whom his wife so greatly loved. Apparently, Anderson himself felt similarly, as he made his charge out to the young prince.

"To my son by marriage," the minister began as he read the charge aloud. "Look behind you to my wife, Kyanna"  
As the prince turned to look at the older woman, the minister continued, "She is now your mother as well. Care for her for the rest of her sunrises and sunwanes. See also my brothers in arms. Send them not into battles without purpose. Avoid bloodshed wherever possible. Pray to the creator before ordering arms.

"My son by marriage, I leave in your care the two greatest gifts I have ever received, my daughter Adaunde and my grandson Endymion. As I already know that you will protect them with your life, I ask that you continue to love them with your whole heart. Have them remember the minor colonel who loved them and loved his country and his world."

Looking up from the charge, the minister looked at the prince, who once again faced him and said, "Terrius,  
prince of Earth, do you accept the charge of Colonel Anderson as read in the hearing of the assembled?"

"Yes, I accept the charge," the prince agreed. With that, he stood and saluted the vessel holding the colonel. Returning to his seat next to his wife, some in the front swore that unshed tears sparkled in the royal's eyes.

After the accepting of the charge, the widow rose to put her flower on the vessal and to say goodbye. She appeared steady enough at the approach, but after laying the flower, she didn't appear to be able to let go of the vessal. Noticing the hesitation on the part of the widow, Mistress Maya rose and walked to the vessal, and, after hugging Kyanna Anderson and standing next to her for a few minutes, led the older woman back to her seat.

Finally, William Anderson's only child stood and walked to the vessal. Pressing her hand on the top, she whispered, "Oh,  
Daddy. Did you have to return so soon?" Two tears fell from her eyes and hit her hand. After a few seconds, she straightened and appeared to turn to return to her seat, but she stopped and put a hand to her head. Blinking a few times, her eyes slid closed and she crumbled.

The sound of shock was so loud in comparison to the previous silence. Lady Bella and Prince Terrius were at the fallen princess's side before many in the cathedral could blink.

Over the surprised murmurings of the crowd, Lady Anderson's voice calling for her daughter and Maya's soft, "It's okay,  
Kyanna. Dawn will be fine," almost seemed like a shout.

Others reported being moved by the small voice that uttered "Mummy?" worriedly and the reply from the queen. "My little sunrise. Everything shall be fine. Just stay here with your grandmummy Honoria."

Next to the fallen princess, Lady Bella knelt and fanned.

Holding the princess' hand was her royal husband, who whispered, "Oh, creator, not again. I do not think I can do this again."

"Terrius," his oldest friend said as she stopped fanning the princess. "You have to believe that everything shall be fine."

On the word fine, the princess began to blink. Stirring and beginning to sit up, the princess whispered, "What - what has happened?"

"You slipped from us again, Adaunde," her husband explained softly. "Can you stand?"

The princess nodded and was helped to her feet by her husband and her friend. "After the committment, we are taking you to see a medic," her husband whispered, his tone conveying that he would not take any arguments about his pronouncement. The princess turned her sad eyes to him, and he hugged her briefly as he held her back to their seats.

It was hours after the committment of the remains of William Anderson to the terra firma of the military cementary.  
Kyanna sat in a darkened sitting room of the palace. She was cried out, tired, and desperately missing her husband. Truth be told, she was also a little angry with her Bill because he had known...he had known that -

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Looking at the door as it opened, she saw the prince enter the room.  
"Lady Kyanna? Might I talk with you for a while?"

"Of course," the former colonel's wife agreed. "But only if you call me Mom, your royal highness."

Expecting Terrius's normal refusal, she was surprised when he replied, "If that is what you wish, Mom. But you should call me Terrius in return."

The widow nodded. After a few minutes of silence, the widow voiced the discovery that was making her angry. "Did you know," she began in a detached voice, "that Bill knew he had a weak heart? For many mooncycles he KNEW that he would be facing the Creator soon and he never told me? There were things he could have done to stay with us, with me, longer, and he never even told-" the widow's voice broke.

Terrius crossed over to her and took her hand. "I think," the prince began tentatively, "I think he wanted to send his last mooncycles with you and Adaunde and Endy and not in some medic ward. I cannot say that I would not make a similar choice."

After a few moments, Kyanna nodded. A few beats after a thinking silence fell, Kyanna turned to the prince. "Terrius," the widow began. "Why have you come to see me?"

"I was wondering...hoping actually, that you would join us in the palace." As Kyanna's eyes widened, Terrius quickly continued, "It is just that the home of Lord Anderson is so big for one person. And Endy would love to be able to see his grandmere Kyanna every sunrise. And Adaunde shall need you..."

Here the prince paused for a second. Then, looking at Kyanna he said, "I just left Adaunde with the medic. Apparently,  
she is with child again. I thought such a thing would make her hand, but she merely squeezed my hand and continued to stare out the window. I just...I think she might need her mother."

Kyanna nodded. "Do not worry so, my son Terrius," the sergeant's daughter looked softly at the prince. "My daughter will smile again, Terrius. As to that," Kyanna shrugged, "I may smile again myself. As to your offer...I will stay here with you. It might," she paused to clear her throat and stop a sob. "It might make sending Bill off a little easier seeing the little bit of him that is in our Endy."

"Thank you, Mom," the prince said. Deciding not to push the noblewoman further, he stood and quietly left Lady Kyanna Anderson with her thoughts.

- to be continued -

Well, I did say I was going to put this family through a lot.  
This is only the beginning; I like torturing characters that I like.

I will be starting chapter six in the near future. I am not completely sure that this chapter will not be revised, so please send your comments to me at The different points of view in this chapter might be a little confusing...I'm not sure how or if to address this, but I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you for reading.  
December


	6. how to laugh

Royal Blue - How to Laugh

It had been a somber time for the royal family. The death of former colonel William Anderson had, at least temporarily,  
put a damper on the joy that normally radiated from the palace and the princess. It was seven mooncycles after her father's funeral before the princess even smiled again, and that only on the occasion of the birth of her second child, Prince Tremaine. And,  
as goes the princess, so goes the palace.

Yet, it was now thirty mooncycles later and his royal highness, Prince Terrius, was worried about his wife. True, the birth of their second son did get the princess to smile again. And, also true, the presence of her mother did lighten everyone's spirits, as Lady Kyanna could be an unstoppable force at times, but the fact that he hadn't heard his wife's laughter in so long concerned Terrius greatly.

As he sat in the sitting room just off of the throne room there was a knock at the door. "Enter."

As the door opened, a slightly out of breath Lady Kyanna almost marched into the room. "Good sunrise, Terrius.  
You requested my presence?"

"Yes, I did. Please have a seat Lady Ky-" the prince paused as the older noblewoman raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me, Mom,  
please have a seat."

The military wife smiled as she sat down. "Someday soon,  
we'll have you calling me 'Mom' without any prompts." Taking a deep breath, Kyanna continued. "So what exactly is this about?"

Looking at his mother by marriage in concern, the prince deviated from his agenda to ask, "Are you well, Mom? You seem to be slightly out of breath."

A peal of laughter came from the other occupant in the room.  
"You can blame your sons for that. I spent the sunrise wearing them out so that their nannies and tutors could handle them. They have so much energy! I think my daughter has her hands full with them. I had wondered why the Creator had blessed her with so much stamina. Now I know."

"If they were too much for you-"

Kyanna snorted. "Oh please. They are fine. They are good little boys after all, but boys all the same. Besides, they keep me young."

"Good," Terrius smiled briefly. His smile slipped as he came to the subject that was bothering him, "Actually, I asked to see you because I am worried about Adaunde. Ever since...ever since we lost her father, she seems so sad-"

The older woman smiled sadly at her son by marriage, "And you want to see her happy again, like she used to be?"

"Well, yes," the royal agreed.

"My son, death of a parent is a hard thing to live with.  
I hope, Creator willing, it isn't something you have to live with for many mooncycles yet. Having a loved one return to the creator does change one for life."

"Oh."

"Wait. That does not mean that my daughter will never laugh again. She has already made amazing strides rather quickly because of little Tremmy. She didn't cry for days like I did upon the loss of my father. Tremmy and Endy and you have been able to make her smile and to make her face the world around her.  
Give her a little more time to laugh."

Terrius nodded as Kyanna rose. As he got to his feet as well, his mother by marriage turned to him and said. "It also might help if you invited some of her friends over to see her. The few times that she was really sad as a child,  
Maya always seemed to be able to bring her out of it."

The young man smiled. "Thank you, Mom."

"You're welcome. Besides," Kyanna said as she reached for the door, "I would like to hear my daughter laugh again as well.

In the sitting room off of her own quarters, Princess Adaunde allowed herself to sigh. Seven and thirty mooncycles after her father's death and she still missed him greatly. She was passed denying that her father was gone. She was no longer angry that her father had return to the Creator before she herself was ready for him to go. She even was able to dredge up memories of him that made her smile. But she still seemed to be unable to be herself.

She knew her behavior was concerning her family. She saw the troubled looks that her husband often leveled on her when he thought she was unaware. She noticed that her mother always made sure to have the sun-height repast with her daughter.  
Her oldest son had tried to become a laugh provider, working so hard to make her smile and alleviate his new found nervousness.  
The only one not actively worried about her was her own silver lining, Tremaine. But that was only because the poor boy had never actually heard his mother laugh.

Adaunde felt guilty about all of this, she really did.  
She worried that he was hurting Terrius in the way she feared she would before she married him. The most annoying thing was she didn't seem to be able to help it. So, when her husband asked her to go on a walk with Lady Bella, she agreed. She had to do something, after all.

The knock on the door caused the princess to jump slightly, but after a slight pause, she said, "Come in,"

The door opened and a familiar person walked into the room. Her light blue hair was pulled back from her face and up from her neck. Her eyes sparkled and she wore a pink bouvardia twined around her wrist. Yet, in all the familiarity,  
there were difference. The young woman, although she currently looked concerned, practically glowed. On top of which, she was slightly heavier than the last time Adaunde had seen her.  
"Bella. Thank you for coming."

The lady and royal advisor smiled. "Do not dare to thank me. I wanted to be able to see you, to talk. I know it has been difficult since Lord Anderson...well..."

"Yes, Bella, it has been difficult since my father has left us. But I am beginning to believe that he would not want me...stuck as I am," the princess admitted as she stood.  
"So, let us take that walk that Terrius insisted that we have."

The noblewoman nodded and the two set off for one of the many palace gardens. As they neared the side door that led to the orchid gardens, the princess began to reflect on the difference in her friend. She had not seen much of Lady Bella in the past thirty mooncycles, as her personal grief had lessened her interest in planetary matters. There was something different about her...

"How have you been, Bella? I feel very remiss in not...interacting much with you as of late," the princess began.

"It is fine, your royal highness. I understood.  
The death of a parent is not an easy thing," the noblewoman smiled sympathetically.

"No," the princess agreed. As they approached the golden orchid groves, the princess turned to ask why Bella had chosen that particular courtyard, when she heard familiar laughter, "What - ?" the princess began to ask as she rounded the corner to suddenly stop in surprise as she saw what was in the clearing.

On one of the benches near the area fountain, sat two women. One of the women was laughing, her red hair bobbing up and down with her mirth. The other woman smiled, but most of her attention was focused on her lap, on which stood a smaller person. The two women did turn toward the sound of the princess'  
voice as she entered the courtyard.

"Surprise," Lady Bella said quietly behind her. And,  
while the princess did not respond to her statement, the noblewomen new her royal friend thanked her.

"Maya," the princess said very quietly.

The red-head smiled. "Hello, Dawn," she greeted her oldest friend as she rose from her bench to walk over to the princess. She wrapped her friend in a big hug. "It's good to see that you are out."

"You are here," the princess breathed. "You are here this time," the princess repeated, also referring to the one time she needed her friend and she had not been there.

"Yes, I'm here this time." Maya said as she held her friend and closed her eyes. Although Adaunde did refer to it from time to time, she had never asked Maya why she had disappeared for two and ten mooncycles when Adaunde was only five mooncycles with Endymion, not returning until after his birth. Maya had likewise never told her, mainly because the reason hurt so much.

"It is good to see you, Maya. I am sorry that I have not talked much to you since the send off of my father-"

"No, it's okay. I understood," the merchant's daughter said as she let go of her friend. "And, as I expect to be a basketcase when I have to send off my father to the creator, I expect the same kind of support and understanding from you," Maya ended with a smile.

"Of course," Adaunde replied.

After smiling at her oldest friend, Adaunde walked to the bench and sat down next to her other visitor. "Lady Ashante. Welcome back to the palace."

"Your royal highness," the woman smiled as she nodded toward the princess.

"And who do you have with you?" the princess said as she smiled at the child who had now turned her brown eyes in the direction of the princess.

"This is my daughter, Lady Maxine Zaire"  
the countess of Afrique said with pride as she smiled at the girl she held in her arms.

"Your daughter! Oh, Lady Ashante, I had no idea! I-" the princess began, horrified over having missed such an important moment in her friend's life.

"Do not worry, your royal highness. It is fine.  
Between the loss of your father and the birth of your second son, you were busy. I understood," the countess smiled, "I did want you to have a chance to meet my little girl, however, so she accompanied us to the capital city this trip."

"Thank you," the princess smiled. Once again turning her attention to the little girl on her friend's lap, Adaunde smiled. "It is very nice to meet you,  
Lady Maxine."

The little girl smiled shyly in return. "Hello"  
she said quietly.

"She is precious," the princess declared to her mother. Noting the pink curl nestled in one of the puffs on the young girl's head, Adaunde commented, "Truly a daughter of the ruling house of Afrique."

"Yes," Ashante smiled as she gently pulled on the pink curl. "And it looks much better on her than her father."

The princess would have made another comment if the air hadn't suddenly been filled with yelling. "What in terra firma-?" Maya asked as she looked around, trying to find the source of the noise.

"Those would be my boys. They are probably trying to run from their minders...either because they have done something or they are about to do something"  
the princess sighed as she rose.

"Their minders?" Ashante asked, confused.

"My sons are like me in that they do not like the idea of protection. They even seem to have adverse reactions to words like 'security' and 'protectors', so we have taken to referring to those watching over them as minders," the princess shrugged. "It is just easier that way."

Just as the princess neared the edge of the clearing, two shapes rush around the corner and ran into her.  
Stumbling slightly, but not falling, the princess regained her balance and then looked down at what had hit her. "Good sunrise, Endymion and Tremaine. Pray tell, whom are you evading, hm?"

Two guilty looking faces looked up at their mother.  
"Good sunrise, mummy," Endymion replied quietly.

"Endy made me do it," Tremaine replied, pointing to his older brother while making a pouty face.

"I did not," the older boy objected.

The princess smiled. Squatting down, she drew both of them into a hug, "My dangerous duo. Whatever shall I do with you?" she asked. Pulling back to look at them, "I know.  
I shall introduce you."

Ignoring the puzzled looks on their faces, Princess Adaunde let them go and stood up. Taking both of their hands,  
she led the two first to one-half of the royal advising team.  
"You both remember Lady Bella?"

"Good sunrise, Auntie Bella," the boy chorused.

The blue-haired noble smiled. "Good sunrise to the both of you. I do hope you are being kind to your minders," she added as an afterthought. "Good ones are hard to find."

The guilty looks reappeared on the boys' faces,  
causing the noble woman to laugh. 

Before the boys could think of a way to explain whatever they had done, their mother led them on. Walking next to her best friend, she said, "This Mistress Tiffany-  
Cartier. You remember your Auntie Maya, do you not?"

Eight year old Endymion nodded, "Good sunrise,  
Auntie Maya."

"Good sunrise, your royal highness. You are growing up to be more of a heart stealer everyday," the merchant's daughter added.

At the older boy's blush, Maya turned her attention to the other prince, "and good sunrise to you, Prince Tremaine."

The younger boy peaked out at her from behind his mother, "Hello."

Maya smiled as she looked up at her friend. "He's cute," she said, trying to cover up her sadness that he did not seem to be very comfortable with her.

"That is because he is on his best behavior at the moment. A few mooncycles in your presence, and you might change your mind," Adaunde said, smiling to reassure her friend that her youngest would soon call her "Auntie Maya"  
as well.

Finally, the princess dragged her boys to the last two people in the courtyard. "And this, is the countess of Afrique and her daughter, Maxine."

"Good sunrise, Lady Zaire, Lady Maxine," Endymion said with a little bow.

"Good sunrise, your royal highness," Ashante replied and her daughter smiled at Endymion.

At little Maxine's smile, Tremaine moved from behind his mother. "Hello," the three year old boy said as he looked at the little girl.

"Hello," she echoed as she waved at the boy.

"Do you want to play?" Tremaine asked.

Maxine blinked and then turned to her mother,  
almost as if to ask for permission. "Of course, if it is alright with her highness," Ashante smiled.

"Oh, absolutely!" Adaunde agreed. "She would be a wonderful influence on them."

With all the permission needed, and with Endymion's promise that they would be good and mind their minders while Maxine was with them, Maxine was place on the ground. She reached out for Tremaine's hand; Endymion took her other hand. As the princes' minder finally caught up with them, the three children quietly left.

Bella shook her head as the three children left.  
"That is the quietest I have ever seen their royal highnesses!  
Unless they were in a lot of trouble," the royal advisor qualified. "They are a handful, your royal highness."

"Hoping that your own will not be as labor intensive?" the princess asked slyly.

Lady Bella Morte-Vida gasped. "How did you know?"

"That you were with child? I guessed, based on your glow and other changes." The princess paused, "Bella, I shall to be more supportive now than I have been in the past when my friends have had children."

"Oh, Adaunde. We all understand. Really, we do"  
Lady Bella replied.

It appeared that Adaunde was about to object, when she paused, blinked a few times and then crumpled.

"Your royal highness!" three voices shouted as the two noblewomen and a merchant's daughter rushed to the side of the fallen princess.

Moments later, the princess opened her eyes to see her concerned friends. "What happened?"

"You slipped again, your royal highness," Bella said as she looked at the princess in concern.

"But I am fine," the princess replied. "I am sorry to worry you so, Bella," the princess added. "I seem to slip around you often, but I do not normally do so."

"Adaunde, I have only known you to slip only twice before!" the noblewoman tried to reassure the princess. "Once, at your anniversary when you were with Endymion and then during the service for your father when you were..."

"...with Tremmy," the princess finished quietly.  
"Do you think that I -"

"Might be with child again?" Ashante finished the question. "It would make sense."

The princess blinked. "I am with child again?  
It is...a bit of a surprise."

"It doesn't seem fair, however," Maya said.

"What do you mean? Why does it not seem fair?" the princess asked, puzzled.

"Well, Dawn, it just seems that the only symptom you have of being with child is slipping"  
Maya began. "You have no nausea, no cramping,  
no mood swings. It just doesn't seem fair."

"She does have a point, Adaunde. My husband complained about how I could vacillate between tears and laughing for no reason when I was with Maxine"  
Ashante said.

"And how are you blessed with no sunrise illness? I had sunrise illness for the last three mooncycles!  
And sometimes sunwane illness as well" Bella exclaimed.

"It's probably a good thing," Maya said. "Imagine if our princess had lost her meals instead of slipping."

"Goodness, that would not have gone over well at the ball! It would have clashed with her gown," Bella replied.

"It would not have been appropriate at the service for Lord Anderson, either," Ashante pointed out.

"Yes," the princess said with a strange look on her face. "Creationist ministers are taught to try to commune at peace with terra firma, but I do not think they would be pleased about what that would do to their cathedral."

"And here," Maya pointed out, "it would probably blend with the grass!"

Adaunde looked down at the ground and began to make a strange sound. As her friends looked on with concern, her shoulders began to shake. The three women looked at each other, horrified.

"Dawn," Maya began her apology, "we didn't mean anything-" but she stopped when her friend looked up. The princess' eyes were smiling and there were no sign of tears at all.

"Bl-blend in with the grass," the princess choked out around her laughter. "And clash with my dress? Poor Honoria would have been beside herself."

The other women looked at each other for a second.  
Then Bella started to snicker. "No, just picture it!" she insisted.

After a few moments, Maya and Ashante looked at each other and started laughing. Soon all four of them were laughing as they sat on the ground in the middle of the clearing. They laughed until they cried, not noticing that they had drawn a crowd, which included the two young princes of the planet and Lady Maxine.

"We do not have to tell Terry about this little slipping incident, do we?" Adaunde managed to ask around her laughter.

"Only if you promise to get out more than Lady Talia did after she had her daughter," Ashante insisted.

"I promise," Adaunde smiled.

And, as they promised, Prince Terrius was not told that this wife had slipped from the world that sunrise. He was told that his wife was with child. He was also told that she was laughing again. 

The news made him smile.

- to be continued -

Let me know what you think. I'm in the process of working on chapter eight and I would love your feedback. Email me at for reading.  
December 


	7. how to choose

Royal Blue - How to Choose 

An hour before sunrise and he was awake. When he was five, he would awake at this hour to practice the salute that his grandfather had taught him. When he was eight, he would awake at this hour to check on his younger brother, who clung to him in the early years before their mother started to laugh again. But he was awake before the sun at one and ten years of age for a very different reason.

He was nervous. Today was the day he chose his royal guard. Today he took his first steps as prince and bestowed the four greatest military honors on four people. Why everyone thought that the next heir would be able to handle such a responsibility at one and ten,  
he wasn't sure, but that was the tradition according to his father.

His entire family had a stake in this selection, and it was all he had heard about for the last few sunrises. His father had tried to advise him on his choices, insisting that the most important thing was that he trusted his guard, because he would have to trust them with his life with every sunrise and wane. And, later in his life, this group would directly and indirectly be responsible for protecting his future wife and children.

His mother saw this as a wonderful opportunity to destroy barriers.  
She kept insisting that, although the titles given to the royal guard were military titles, the people to whom he gave them did not have to be military. Besides, it was important that his guard was composed of different voices.

His grandmere Kyanna had explained over and over the importance of the royal guard in the military hierarchy. His grandmummy Honoria told him that it was important that his royal guard could function at royal balls and routs. His grandfather, the king, advised that his royal guard have members who had tactical skill.

His younger brother just said, "Endy, you can't steal any of my friends!" Even at six, Tremaine had grasped that the life of a member of the Royal Guard was very time consuming. Whether his youngest brother, Arlington, was aware of what was happening,  
much less had an opinion was anyone's guess. But, if a name was mentioned that the three year old didn't like, he'd make a fist and stick out his tongue.

It wasn't just the prince's family that had a stake in this decision. The current Kunzite and the head of his father's security, General Bryer, had had many a conversation about how important this decision was. After all, one of these unnamed people would take over the title of Kunzite after a training period of a mooncycle. Of course, all the close conversations with Bryer had made Endy's mother unhappy, as she had a very present but unexplained dislike of Bryer. Luckily,  
most of her ire at Stephen Bryer didn't transfer to his son,  
and Endymion's friend, Jonathan. She often said, "I do like Jonathan more than his father, but that really is not saying much."

Nephrite, General Kyto, had advice for how to find a good strategist. Zoicite, Sergeant Putnam, stressed the importance of a good team dynamic. And Jedite, Lieutenant Gore, the woman who had been kind enough to let him refer to her as "Auntie Shannon" as a little boy, insisted that compassion and flexibility were important, both in his guard and in the way he treated his guard. And, Gore would know, as Prince Terrius had allowed her to marry the love of her life, Colonel Clinton, and worked with her when she was with Kay-Leigh, her daughter.

And finally, he had heard all of the whispers around the palace. Everyone insisted that they would gain insight into what kind of king he would be by his choices. Somehow, how he would rule many mooncycles in the future would be completely evident with his naming four people.

It was a lot of pressure. And it was pressing him into a corner.

It wasn't that he hadn't tried to deal with it earlier. He tried to avoid talking about it, but it was all everyone ever asked about. He tried to ignore it, but every hour just made the event closer. And, the one time he tried to joke about it, his father had looked at him disapprovingly;  
his mother had shaken her head; and his grandmere scolded him with, "One shouldn't make light of this, Endymion."

He wanted to get away. For a moment, he didn't want to be a prince. He didn't want to be trapped in the palace. He wanted space to think. Space without tutors, minders, or even his family. Just some time with the horizon and the creator.

So, as the sunrise finished its appearance in the sky, Prince Endymion Terra, the one and ten year old heir to the heir of the throne, plotted how to slip out of the palace on his own for peace. A plan that probably would have concerned his parents and chilled the hearts of the current royal guard, had they known.

As the sunlight streamed into the room through the two east windows,  
his royal highness Prince Terrius began to stir. Half asleep,  
he reached for the familiar person who should be at his side. Finding nothing there did cause him to awake more quickly, but not because he was concerned. Yet. Opening his eyes, he turned to face the windows as he leveled himself up on one elbow.

Sitting in one of the windows, staring out at the horizon was the object of his search. He had thought she would be up early today.  
It's not everyday that a mother has to deal with the tangible fact that one of her children was growing up.

"Everything shall be fine, Adaunde," he assured softly from the bed.

"I know that," his wife answered softly. "I do know that. It is just that this is such a big step! And he seemed so nervous about it."

"I think all princes are nervous about this. I remember being terrified of making a mistake in the choosing myself."

That statement caused his curious wife to turn and face him.  
"For how long were you worried about your choices?"

"Until I was one and thirty," the prince answered honestly.

"One and thirty!" the princess echoed in reply. "Terrius, by one and thirty you were married and a father -"

"So every situation for which I would need a royal guard had occurred. And I still trust them implicitly. They have done a good job in supervising the protection of my children. They have saved my life a few times. They can communicate and interact well with my wife -" the prince paused as he looked over at Adaunde, remembering her ever present objection to one member of his guard. "For the most part, anyway. I did well. Our Endy shall as well. You shall see."

"How are you so confident?" the princess asked as she left the window.

"I am confident because we raised him well. When I was one and ten, my father told me that whom I chose would reflect the kind of person I was. And, as he was proud of me, he would be proud of my choices."

"But that is just it, Terrius," his concerned wife said as she returned to the bed. Laying back down, she turned to look at her husband as she shared her concern. "Our Endy has been through so much! He was present when his grandfather died. He saw his mother collapse at the send off service. He went three years without hearing his mother laugh and knowing that his father was sad and worried,  
not understanding why. In all of that, he had to look after Tremmy. I worry," the princess paused to wipe away a tear. "I worry that I have caused him harm and that he is not ready."

Terrius gathered his concerned his concerned wife into his arms. "I disagree. I refuse to believe that we have harmed our children."

Adaunde buried her head in his shoulder. "Honoria did not make the mistakes I have."

"Adaunde," Terrius began as he sat back to look at his wife. "Look at me," he requested as he reached under her chin and lifted her head so that she met his eyes. "Yes,  
you have done things differently than my mother, but that does not mean that my mother did not make mistakes that affected me."

"You were not subjected to the death of your grandfather"  
Adaunde countered.

"Yes, I was not present when my maternal grandfather died.  
Of course, that is because we never went to visit him and he only came to the palace twice. I did not know him, not in the way Endy knew your father. And, I think, if you ask our son, he cherishes the memories of his grandfather Bill and is glad that he has them."

"Your mother did not ceasing laughing for three years"  
Adaunde pointed out.

"No, she did not. My mother does not laugh overmuch now.  
I have only seen her laugh around her grandchildren. Besides,  
my mother may not have stopped laughing, but I did not see her much as a child," Terrius shared with his wife. "When I was younger, I was told that I made the mistake of thinking one of my nannies was my mother. I think I may have even referred to her in that way." He stopped to look his shocked wife in the eye to make his point. "Endy may not have heard your laughter for three years and Tremmy may not have heard you laugh for the first three years of his life, BUT neither one of them has ever called or thought that anyone else was their mother."

"But-"

"Adaunde," Terrius interrupted. "You are a good mother. I know this because you were blessed with a good mother. You married a good man-"

"That I did," Adaunde laughed at her husband's pride as she kissed her husband on the cheek.

"And," Terrius concluded, "you have a good heart. Endymion,  
Tremaine, and Arlington cannot help but be amazing men because of your presence in their life. That is why Endy shall be fine today. Even if he is nervous and remains nervous until he is one and thirty."

Adaunde paused, obviously thinking about what her husband had told her. "I can accept that," she replied.

With that, still in each other arms, the couple laid back down on the bed. After a few seconds, Terrius whispered, "You are still nervous, are you not?"

"Yes. My eldest is growing up. There shall soon be a new Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoicite, and Jedite. It is a beginning of a new order. It is an important day. And mothers are good at worrying," the princess listed with a small smile.

After a few moments of quiet, the princess sighed. "Well, there is a silver lining in this. Bryer shall not be Kunzite for much longer." The princess looked at her husband. "I am sorry, Terrius. I know that you trust him, but I cannot. And I cannot help but be relieved at his forthcoming lessening of power."

"I am not so sure about the lessening of power prediction."

"What do you mean?" demanded Adaunde.

"Just that I would not be surprised if Jonathan, son of Stephen,  
is one of the choices. Jonathan and Endy are friends. And having  
a son on the guard would still give Stephen influence. Not that he loses  
overmuch influence, as he stays on my guard.He is just no longer titled."

"And no longer first in command," Adaunde felt impelled to point out. "But why should Jonathan be named? I thought this was not about choosing friends."

"It is not, but Jonathan is from a military family and Endymion does trust him. I thought you did as well," the prince added as he looked at his wife.

"It is not that I do not trust him," his wife began. She paused as she struggled to put her misgivings into words. "I am...unsure of him. He has the silver hair of his father and I am not sure what else he has inherited from his sire. I do like Jonathan more than Stephen -"

"But that is not saying much," her husband finished as she nodded. "But do you trust Jonathan with Endymion? With his life?"

"I would not like to do so, but I may have to do so," the mother shared honestly. "I have to trust General Bryer with your life everyday. I rest easier knowing that Kyto and Gore are there with Bryer looking out for you as well."

"And Jonathan, if Endy does name him, shall have Kyto and Gore counterparts as well." Terrius was quiet for a few moments. "It shall be fine, Adaunde. I promise."

"I know that. I do," the princess whispered quietly as they both turned their thoughts inward as the sunrise continued.

He wasn't sure why he decided to go to Sporku Hill that day. He knew that one of the many bands of displaced members of the worker class had claimed that hill as their own. He knew from listening to his father's conversations that these bands robbed and attacked people who went into their territory. In other words, he knew the hill was dangerous.

Maybe it was his sense of adventure that drew him. Maybe it was because at ten he felt there was more out there than life on workman's row. Regardless of the reason, he was at the foot of the hill two hours after sunrise. And, two hours after sunrise he saw the beginnings of a problem.

Walking up the hill with no apparent awareness of the danger that he was stepping into, a dark haired boy, who couldn't have been much older than the observing nightwatchman's son seemed lost in thought. The boy was clearly nobility, Treggar Lightmaker thought as he continued to watch. The stranger's clothes were of high quality. He walked with an unspoken commanding air. A flash of gold as the boy lifted his hand to shade his eyes indicated that he was wearing a ring of some sort.

In other words, the stranger was a perfect target for the band. It wouldn't be long before they gathered to attack him.

As Treggar battled with himself about whether or not he should go warn the other boy, he heard the band leader say, "Well, well, what've we got 'ere?"

The band had gathered and had begun to surround the young man, who finally appeared to look worried.

"I's think we got a trespasser," one of the band members said.

"A rich one at that," another agreed.

"I's think he needs to pay our toll," the leader said ominously as he produced a club from behind his back.

Watching the group surround the noble boy, Treggar made a rather impulsive decision. The boy probably had never even seen a fight; at least Treggar had been in a few row rumbles before. He had to help.

Charging up the hill, Treggar shouted, "Back off, row ruin!" Positioning himself between the gathering band and the boy, he hoped that somehow he could hold off the band so the boy could get away. Eying the club the leader held, the boy thought, "This is going to hurt."

"Wait a minute. That's Lightmaker's boy," One of the band members observed.

"So?" another band member asked.

"I ain't touching his kid. Lightmaker's a terror. I's not going to be the one who beat down his kid!"

The leader paused for a moment, as if to consider this.  
Then he said, "If we were on the row, that'd make sense.  
But this be our hill. Sure, Lightmaker may find his kid roughed  
over...but ain't no one gonna be around to tell him who done it."

"Yeah," the other members of the band agreed as they began to advance again.

"We are so dead," Treggar muttered.

"What is happening?" the refined voice of the stranger asked from behind him.

"Oh, we're about to get attacked," Treggar shared. Looking briefly over his shoulder at the stranger he asked, "Before this gets too bad, think you'd tell me your name? Be nice to know who I was gettin' punched for."

Whatever reply the stranger had was lost in a shout from the bottom of the hill. He thought someone said something that sounded like "Nathan," but he was too busy concentrating on the band in front of them to be sure.

Nearly two hours after sunrise and the field was already almost full. It didn't matter that the choosing would not happen until three hours after sunrise. It didn't even matter that the crowd wasn't orderly. All that mattered to most there was the chance that they may gain one of the highest honors in the land.

They were all there. Workers, merchants, military, and even a few low ranking nobles crowded the field. For the first time in the history of the planet, this was an open choosing, something that the young man observing the gathering remembered his father not being that pleased about. At least, Jonathan thought this was what his father was referring to went he muttered about "Whims of the princess."

Jonathan realized he really couldn't say too much against the crowd, ashe was present for the  
choosing as well. He wasn't sure what exactly what to expect. His mother's innovations aside,  
Endymion was not the easiest personto understand or get to know. Regardless of the outcome,  
Jonathan figured hewould still be able to count the royal as friend at least.

"Jonathan," a familiar voice said off to his left.

Groaning internally, Jonathan Bryer turned to face the approaching son of a baron. "Lord Sato. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Of course," the one and ten year old auburn haired noble said as he reached the general's son. "You may tell me where I can find Endy. I wanted to talk to him before this...thing happens."

Jonathan shot an angry look at the noble. "You could be a little more respectful of the process, Lord Sato."

The noble shook his head. "First, you could call me Nathaniel. And second, what process? Most people could name the choices that Endy shall make. He shall choose from among the top military families of course, regardless of the wishes of his mother. I suspect you are nervous because you are worried that you shall not make the cut."

Jonathan ground his teeth a little. While the prince was friends with both of them, Jonathan and Nathaniel tended to rub each other the wrong way. They only seemed to be able to work well together when they were trying to keep Endymion out of trouble. "Why are you even about? Wasn't there some dire warning about stargazers moving about this sunrise?" Jonathan asked in a snide tone.

A dark look was returned along with the dry, "It was not a warning of danger, but a portends of life-changing events. Not everyone likes change. Regardless, why are you so dismissive of my beliefs? You are not so with the faith of his royal highness."

"Prince Endymion's a creationist."

"But you are not," Nathaniel countered.

"Creationism at least makes some kind of sense, even if it dodges responsibility. This skywatcher thing you are.  
well, excuse me for doubting that our future is in the stars."

After a few beats of silence, Nathaniel continued, "As we shall never agree on this issue, if you would help me locate his royal highness, I would appreciate it."

"I don't know where he is, Lord Sato," Jonathan admitted.  
"I'm sure someone in the palace would -"

"I have asked at the palace. They are not sure where he is, but none of them seemed concerned. I thought that there may be some traditional waiting area where he would be before the ceremony today. And, if it was a military tradition, you should know where that was."

"There is no traditional waiting space," Jonathan said.

"Well, where do you think he would be?" Nathaniel asked.

"You know him as well as I do! Where do you think he'd be?"

Nathaniel paused for a moment. "I know that he was very nervous about this sunrise. My guess is that he would retreat to someplace quiet to think."

"Somewhere where he didn't have to be a prince for a little while," Jonathan agreed.

"Exactly. Somewhere away from all of this." Nathaniel stopped as if considering something, "He would not have left the palace, would he?"

"Not with some kind of security. I'm sure of it." But as he uttered that last sentence, the general's son realized he wasn't sure that his friend wouldn't try to run off alone if very stressed.

"Are you sure? We are talking about Endymion, are we not?"

"No," Jonathan uttered a word he'd heard about the military barracks that was never said in polite company. "We have to go find him."

"Agreed." Nathaniel said. "But where do we begin to look?  
The capital city is rather vast and someone shall miss him eventually and sound an alarm."

Jonathan nodded. "Well, he wouldn't have gone far. He'd be on foot, after all. And he'd know that he would have to be back for this."

"He would want somewhere open and quiet," Nathaniel added.

"So we would just need to check all of the open and quiet places near the palace."

"What about the hill in the military area of the city"  
Nathaniel asked.

"No, he wouldn't go anywhere near there." Jonathan answered.

"Why? Almost all of the military would be here, anyway"  
Nathaniel pointed out.

"But not all. Many of the wives and the young children would still  
be there. And they would recognize him immediately and escort him  
back to the palace." Jonathan thought for a minute,"What about  
somewhere in the novlesse area of the city?"

Nathaniel shook his head. "All of that open space is private property, usually surrounded by barriers and battlements.  
He would have been noticed if he tried to use any of it."

"So where are we going to find an open space that he could get to?" Jonathan almost shouted in annoyance.

"I may be able to help," a third voice said tentatively.

The young lord and the son of a general turned toward the voice. Another boy around their age with light blond hair stood a few feet behind them. "I didn't mean to overhear," the boy began. "But I was just here to observe and I heard your dilemma and I think I might know where your friend might have gone."

"Who are you?" barked Jonathan, sounding a lot like his father.

"Do not frighten him off, Jonathan," Nathaniel scolded.  
"Excuse my friend," Nathaniel continued as he turned back to the other boy. "And you are?"

"My name is Jordan Cryer, my lord," the young boy replied,  
correctly identifying Nathaniel as a noble. "I am the son of knowledge merchants."

"Well, Jordan," Nathaniel smiled, "where to do you think our friend might have gone?"

"There is a hill just before worker's row. It's on many of the maps of the capital city. It is in a wide open space,  
and while it is near the palace, it is one of the few places where one can't see the palace. Your friend may have gone there."

"Can you get us there?" Jonathan demanded.

"Yes," the boy agreed nervously.

"Lead the way," Jonathan ordered. Taking Nathaniel's arm as he began to follow the merchant's son. "Let's go."

"Let 'us' go? Why am I coming?" Nathaniel asked as he obediently joined the other two boys on the way to the nearby hill.

"You wanted to talk to him, right? Besides," Jonathan admittedly grudgingly, "I might need your help to talk him off of this hill."

Several minutes later the three boys arrived at the hill in question to see Endymion, with an unknown boy in front of him, being surrounded by a rather rough looking bunch of older men.

"That does not look good," Nathaniel observed.

"Looks like we have to pull Endy out of trouble," Jonathan agreed. Very grateful that he was determined to be prepared that sunrise, Jonathan pulled out his sword. "Hold and disperse!" the boy shouted as he charged up the hill.

"Come on, Jordan. Let us go," Nathaniel said as he grabbed Jordan's hand and moved to follow Jonathan up the hill.

"Yes, my lord," Jordan replied in a surprised voice.

"And call me Nathaniel," the noble corrected.

"Yes, my lor- I mean, Nathaniel."

As Nathaniel and Jordan reached the top of the hill, they  
were just in time to witness a deft maneuver by Jonathan  
with his sword that scratched one of the mob and caused  
him to back off.Without thinking or talking about it, the other  
three boys surrounded the prince on his left, right and rear,  
facing outward to deal with the threat.

"If your buddies were coming, you coulda just waited for them"  
the blond in front of the prince said as he blocked an incoming fist.

"I did not know they were coming. Jonathan, Nathaniel, how-"

"Did we find you? We can talk about that later," Nathaniel interrupted as he tried to size up the threat in front of them. "I would just like to know -"

"Have you taken leave of your senses!" Jonathan said as he used his sword to deflect an attack. "How exactly did this happen, anyway?"

"Who cares how it happened!" the young man in front countered.  
"Mister military can surely get us out of here with a few more sword tricks."

"If he knew a few more sword tricks," Nathaniel muttered.

"You are not helping, my lord," Jonathan returned sarcastically.

"At least he brought something pointed and sharp," the young man in front continued. "Please tell me that someone else also has something pointed and sharp."

"There is my wit," Nathaniel shared.

"I think he means something pointed, sharp, and tangible"  
Jordan clarified.

"Then we only have the sword of Jonathan," the heir to a barony confirmed.

"We are so dead," the blond in front of the prince said again.

"Maybe not," Jordan said. "If the military man-"

"His name is Jonathan," Nathaniel interrupted.

"You are not helping, Sato." Jonathan said as he tried to fend off another attack with his sword.

"Well, if Jonathan can tilt the sword up to catch the light of the sunrise, it would blind the men advancing on us-"

"And we can run away!" the one in front said.

"Exactly."

"Fine, okay." Jonathan agreed. "But we have to find another way back. The way we came is too wide open and these guys are probably going to follow us. Got an escape route for us, too, Cryer?"

"I think so, yes," the son of the merchant answered.

"Then let's go," Jonathan said as he used his sword to blind their attackers so that the five boys could rush down the hill.

It was almost three hours before sunrise and there was now a crowd on the platform in front of the field as well as on the field itself. Attached to the south side of the palace, which was the side that faced the great expanse of land that was referred to as the royal field, the platform would serve as the space from which those vying for a place on the royal guard would be observed and those chosen would be announced.

At this time the platform held the current royal guard,  
various servants, and the royal family minus Prince Endymion,  
who was expected to join them soon. While the king and queen  
were off to the side in conversation with the visiting Baron Sato,  
the prince and princess stood in the back center with their other two children.

"Are you still nervous, Adaunde?" Prince Terrius asked his wife.

"Maybe," she admitted. "I think what is most on my mind is that I shall have to endure this again for Tremmy and Ling," she added as looked down at her curious six year old and her fidgeting three year old.

"Yes, but not as grand."

"Not as grand," she agreed. After a few beats, the princess bent down and picked up her youngest, balancing him on her hip.

"Adaunde," her husband chastened, "eventually, you shall have to let him stand on his own for an entire ceremony."

The princess and the youngest prince both turned and stuck their tongues out at Terrius. "I do not have to do so today.  
One of my children is already growing up. I do not feel the need to rush the process for the other two."

As they continued to talk, the current royal guard stood off to the far right surveying the field, two of them also looking to locate their offspring. As General Bryer, the current Kunzite, looked over the field again, a servant approached.

"Excuse me, Kunzite, sir," the servant said timidly.

"Yes. State your business," Bryer replied.

"Um...the prince is missing."

"Excuse me!" the general turned all of his attention on the servant. "Did you say the prince is missing?"

"Well...we can't locate him at moment," the servant admitted.

"When was the last time he was seen?" General Kyto, Nephrite,  
asked as he entered the conversation.

"We are not sure that anyone has actually seen him today.  
We started trying to find him when Lord Sato asked to see him..."

"How long ago was that?" Kyto followed up.

"About two hours after sunrise."

"Two hours after sunrise! And you are just now letting us know that the prince is missing!" Bryer growled.

At that pointing, sensing that something must be amiss,  
the princess walked over to the right end of the platform.  
"What has happened?" she asked.

"Your royal highness," the servant, Kyto and Bryer chorused together as they turned to face the princess and bowed.

"What has happened?" the princess repeated herself.

"We have everything under control, your royal highness"  
Bryer replied.

"That does not answer my question, general. What has happened?"

"There is no need for concern, your royal highness. There is just a possibility of a slight delay," Bryer trying to stall again, certain that he didn't want a frantic mother on top of everything else.

"Kunzite," the princess uttered in a voice that practically ordered an answer to her question.

"The palace servants have been unable to locate the prince"  
Bryer finally admitted.

"What!" the princess gasped. "You lost my son!" she accused, focusing her outrage upon Bryer and not the very nervous servant on the platform.

While the princess' reaction was not loud, it was of sufficient volume for her husband to hear. Bringing his middle son with him, he approached the group.

"Who lost whom? What has happened?"

"Your royal highness," Bryer began again, "the palace has been unable to locate Prince Endymion. They are just now bringing word."

"How long has he been missing? When was the last time someone has seen my son?" Terrius asked, worry apparent under the current calm.

"No one has actually seen him today, but Baron Sato's son was trying to locate him an hour ago. That was when they first tried to locate him," Kyto answered.

Putting her youngest son down and grabbing both his hand and Tremaine's hand, the princess asked, "Did someone take him?"

"Nothing in the palace looked out of place," the servant shared.

"It's too early to tell, but more than likely not. If he had been taken, we would have heard something before now"  
Kyto reassured the princess.

"That could mean that he left on his own," Bryer shared.

Hearing that caused the princess to squeeze both hands she held. Tremaine merely squirmed, but Arlington spoke up. "Ow! That hurts, Mommy."

"Sorry, sweetie," the princess said absentmindedly as she let go of his hand and pulled him to her side instead,  
clamping a hand on his shoulder.

"He would not do that, I am sure," Terrius objected.

"Begging your royal highness' pardon, but he is Princess Adaunde's son, after all," Kyto pointed out.

The truth of that observation caused silence to fall on the group as the adults thought about what that meant and the children tried to figure out what was going on.

"How soon can a search be arranged?" Terrius asked.

"Without causing a panic?" Bryer asked.

Before the conversation could proceed any further, Sergeant Putnam ,the current Zoicite, approached the group. "Who are those people approaching the field from the left?"

The group turned as one to look. In the distance five boys were approaching the field. All of them looked a little worse for wear, but a few of them were recognized by the group on the platform.

"Jonathan? And Nathaniel?" Terrius noted, confused.

"And Endymion, thank the Creator," Adaunde added. "Does anyone know who the other two are?"

"No, your royal highness," Kyto answered.

"Do you think that Endy, Jonathan and Nathaniel went off somewhere together and just not told anyone"  
Adaunde asked her husband.

"On this sunrise? And returning in such shape? I do not think so," Terrius answered.

"Lord Sato came to the palace looking for Prince Endymion," the servant added in a squeak. "He couldn't have left originally with him."

Adaunde sighed. "Terrius, would you go greet our visitors and retrieve our son for the ceremony?"

Surprised, the royal turned to his wife, "Why send me to retrieve our son?"

"Because your reaction shall be better than mine."

"Why are you convinced that my reaction would be better?"

Adaunde smiled at her husband. "Terrius, I am his mother. I was already nervous. I find out that he has been missing for at least an hour and that he probably went out on his own. How do you think I shall react? Remember, mothers also have the gift of the ability to make a scene," she added.

"In that case, I shall go retrieve our son," the prince agreed.

By the time the quintet of boys had made it off of the hill, through the forest and swamp, and back to the palace, they realized that more time had passed than they were aware of. Hoping to not attract too much attention,  
they tried to quietly enter the field from the back left,  
but, as the crowd in front of them began to part, they realized that they had been spotted.

"Whom do you think they have sent to talk to us?" Nathaniel whispered to Jonathan.

"If we're lucky, it's Jedite or Lady Anderson."

"And if we are not lucky?" Nathaniel asked.

"Endy's mother," Jonathan replied.

"Or your father," Nathaniel countered.

"How much trouble are we in, anyway?" the unknown blond from the hill asked.

As the boys looked up to see who was approaching their group,  
their eyes widened. "A lot," Jonathan managed to say under his breath before the envoy stopped in front of them.

"Your royal highness," Jonathan and Nathaniel said as they bowed.

"Your royal highness!" Jordan and the other boy echoed as they quickly bowed in return.

"Father," Endymion acknowledged quietly.

"Father!" this again from the two boys who were neither military or nobility.

"We are so dead," the blond from the hill uttered once more.

"I shall talk with you in a few moments, Endymion," Prince Terrius said as he gave his son a look. Returning his attention to other known boys in front of him, Terrius continued, "Jonathan, Nathaniel. It is good to see you this sunrise. I assume there is a good explanation for the disappearance and reappearance of my son, especially given the state of your attire?"

"Yes, your royal highness," the boys said together.

"I wonder, were the two of you getting him into trouble or out of trouble this time?" Terrius seemed to muse.

"Your royal highness-" Nathaniel began only to be cut off by Prince Terrius.

"I shall hear the entire story later," the prince said.  
Walking back to the two boys unknown to him in the back, he looked at them and asked, "And you are?"

Two fear-filled eyes looked up at him as the boys tried to answer.

Terrius sighed and squatted slightly so that he wasn't so far above the boys. "If my wife were standing here,  
she would point out that there is nothing to fear. We do know our son, after all. Everything shall be fine.  
I would just like to be able to address you both by name, if I may."

"Yes, your royal highness," the boys managed to stammer out. After glancing at each other, the merchant's son decided to go first. "My name is Jordan Cryer, your royal highness. My parents are merchants in the city."

"Cryer," the prince seemed to ponder that name. "They are knowledge merchants, are they not? They have a shop not far from the selling area of the Tiffany-Cartier family?"

"Y- yes," the boy stammered, surprised.

The prince smiled. "I have been in the shop of your parents when my wife has visited with Mistress Maya.  
Your parents are very kind and intelligent people."

"Th-thank you, your royal highness," Jordan replied.

"And you are?" Terrius asked, returning his attention to the one unknown in the group.

"Treggar Quezenberry Lightmaker, your royal highness.  
Just a son of a nightwatchman."

"Well, Treggar. It is nice to meet you," the prince smiled. "And, as my wife would say, there is no such thing as 'just' the son or daughter of any citizen of the realm. Besides, I have a feeling that you have managed to do us a great service today. But I shall have the full story later," Terrius concluded as he stood.

"Come with me, son. We have a choosing to get underway"  
Terrius told his son. As the two began to walk away, the prince  
turned to look over his shoulder. "Please do not leave. We would  
like to talk with all of you after the choosing."

After the two princes had reached the platform, Treggar found his voice enough to squeak out, "How much trouble are in?"

Ignoring him, Nathaniel turned to Jonathan, "So, this has probably knocked you out of the running for a royal guard position."

"Shut up, Sato."

As Endymion approached the platform with his father, he could feel many eyes on him. After he climbed on the platform behind his father, he took a deep breath and turned to face his mother. She stood, leveling a hard stare at him while holding Tremaine's hand with right hand, her other hand clamped on Arlington's shoulder.

"Are you unhurt, Endymion?" she asked softly after a few moments.

"Yes, mummy," he replied.

"Good. We shall all have a long talk after this choosing"  
she said.

"Yes, mummy," Endy agreed.

A few minutes after that, and his father called the crowd to order. Starting the proceedings, his father began to explain what the royal guard was to the assembled. Endymion only attended slightly. In thinking over what he had to do during the ceremony, he realized that he had already made a decision about those who would be in his guard. It meant he would have to re-think what he would say, at least in three instances, but he felt less nervous about the task before him. Maybe he was growing up.

At this point, his father was just finishing up thanking his own royal guard. Knowing that he would have to speak soon, the prince began to listen again to his father.

"...for their service to the crown and to my family,  
I thank them. And I thank them for all of their sacrifices," Prince Terrius was saying as he began to clap.

After the clapping died down, he continued. "Today, Prince Endymion shall carry on this tradition by naming the next Jedite, Zocite, Nephrite, and Kunzite. To do that, he shall give or has already given a test to see whom among you shall be named. At this time, the sun rises on my son the prince."

As his father, turned the attention over to his son, Endymion cleared his throat. "As my father said, those chosen are usually chosen by a test. As I stand before you, I can say that the test has already been given, although it was not meant to be a test at the time.

"Earlier today, I left the palace without security and managed to encounter a little trouble." After the crowd's gasps of surprise had died down, Endymion continued. "It was the teamwork of four diverse and brave people that delivered me from trouble to where I stand before you. Without knowing each other well, they worked together, and in their own way, embodied what a royal guard should be. And I thank them for that."

The prince paused to take a deep breath. While he wasn't as nervous as he was that morning, he was still a little unsure. But he plunged on through the naming. "A Jedite should be a symbol of the heart of the kingdom. Jedite is the voice of compassion and creativity in the guard.  
My father captured this well in the choice of Lieutenant Shannon Gore, and I hope that my choice will be just as correct. Lieutenant Gore, would you please come stand to my right?"

As Lieutenant Gore took her last steps as Jedite, Endymion continued, "Although he was not born into the military or into any situation where one would expect compassion, he showed great compassion this sunrise by rushing in to defend a stranger. For that reason, I name Treggar Quezenberry Lightmaker as the next Jedite."

That pronouncement caused buzzing throughout the crowd. In a particular group of four, it brought another type of reaction.

"Well, well, well," Nathaniel commented as he turned to look at the worker.

"What...what just happened?" the confused boy stammered.

Jonathan gave him a piercing look. "You were just handed a great honor by his highness. Now get up there and accept it," the general's son said as he pushed the other boy toward the platform.

In his own haze of confusion the boy did make it to the platform. Once he arrived, the military woman to the right of the prince gave him a kind smile, after blinking, and, removing a pin she wore, she pinned him. As she lead him a few steps away, he could hear the murmurings of the prince and princess.

"He is not military, Adaunde," Prince Terrius commented to this wife.

"He is a cute little boy, however. I think I shall like him"  
the princess replied.

There wasn't much time for more conversation, because Prince Endymion was continuing. "A Zoicite should be a font of information. It has been said that protection is half intelligence and half strategy based on the intelligence. In Sergeant Tyler Putnam my father found someone who knew a lot about the military and the terrain of the capital city. I hope that my choice can bring a wider knowledge to our rapidly changing world. Sergeant Putnam, would you come and stand to my right?"

Again, as Putnam made his last walk as Zoicite, Endymion continued, "It was the knowledge that this person had of our capital city, of sun heights, and of other uses for swords that more than likely saved my life today. For this reason, I named Jordan Cryer as the next Zoicite."

This caused more murmurings in the crowd and a few, "He's his mother's son"s to be uttered. After a few shocked moments,  
Jordan followed the path of Treggar before him, realizing that he would probably become really shocked and nervous when he actually learned what he was agreeing to.

As Jordan walked, Nathaniel leaned over to Jonathan. "You know," he said, "if you do not receive a space on the royal guard of Endy after this, I really doubt you shall be able to handle it."

"Shove off, Sato," Jonathan replied and ground his teeth as Nathaniel laughed.

Before anyone knew it, Endymion was beginning to name his next choice. "My next choice may be rejected, but it is the only choice I feel that I can make. A Nephrite is a symbol of strategy. Not necessarily military strategy, but of the planning necessary to interact in all the situations besides war. This person is often the public face of the guard. Nephrite is the one who must interact with people outside the military on issues involving the prince and his safety. And, as my grandmother and mother, the queen and the princess, would be quick to point out, this is a person who has to be comfortable at balls,routs, and all the other social occasions in which a royal might need protection.

"In General Holt Kyto, my father found a very talent man who was a natural at politics. An expert negotiator, he was able to communicate with many different kinds of people, including a self-avowed difficult daughter of a colonel." Processing his mother's laughter, Endymion smiled. "Would General Kyto, please come and stand to my right?"

As Kyto moved into position, Endymion dropped his bombshell. "My choice for Nephrite I am sure will ably follow in the footsteps of the general, as he has had to do similar tasks for the entire one and ten years he has walked on terra firma. For this reason, I name Lord Nathaniel Sato as the next Nephrite."

If the crowd murmured before, they were actively talking now. People wondered allowed if such a naming were possible.  
Others asked out loud how Baron Sato would react. The queen herself even leaned over to the baron, noticing his shocked expression, and asked a similar question.

If the baron wore a shocked expression, his son's expression was even more shocked. For a few seconds, the boy really couldn't speak.

"Well, Sato," Jonathan said on his right. "Aren't you going to turn his highness down? Call it an insult to your place and all that?"

"Are you kidding?" Nathaniel asked, the question snapping him back from his paralysis. "I am not turning this down."

"What about your barony?"

"I can manage a barony in my sleep. This is a challenge. Besides," Nathaniel said as he took a deep breath, "my father pulled me from out of nowhere. He can conjure up another heir if he decides he needs one." With that the young lord began his walk to the stage.

As the crowd still discussed this shock, the noble walked onto the platform. He noted that his presence did cause the prince to appear a little less nervous. As the noble approached Kyto, they began their own exchange.

"Lord Sato," the general said as he saluted.

"General Kyto," the one and ten year old replied as he tried to salute in return.

The general shook his head. "We'll have to work on your salute."

"I do bow well," the boy returned.

The general smiled, "so we won't have to work on your etiquette lessons then."

A few minutes and throat clearings later, Endymion was finally ready to make his last selection. "Kunzite is the highest military office in the land. Many mooncycles ago, it was decided that the highest office should be held by the protector of the prince and not a protector of the king, as protecting the king would make one past-oriented while protecting the prince would make one future-oriented. Yet,  
in all of that, a Kunzite must understand the military he or she leads by default. He or she must be an excellent military strategist and a good leader.

"General Bryer has served my father ably in this regard. Without knowing it, however, Bryer has served me ably as well, as for one and ten years he has been training his replacement. General, if you could please stand to my right?"

As the general moved into position, there was no surprise among anyone, when the young prince finally ended with,  
"For this reason, I name Jonathan Bryer as the next Kunzite."

For the first time during the entire naming, the audience clapped, as they finally understood one of the choices made by his royal highness. As Jonathan reached his father, he took a few seconds to collect himself before he met his gaze.

"Congratulations," his father said.

"Thank you," Jonathan returned.

"So," his father began, giving his son a stern look,  
"What actually happened this sunrise?"

"Just what his royal highness said," Jonathan replied.  
"I led the team that passed his test."

- to be continued -

Ironically, I finished this chapter before I finished chapter six! Now, before anyone says that Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoicite,  
and Jedite are out of character, please keep in mind that they are ten and eleven here. Give them some time to grow up and get to know each other.

As always, thank you for reading. Please email me with your thoughts.  
December


	8. how to protect

Royal Blue - How to Protect

Mooncycles can fly by and before one blinks, two sets of twelve passed. It was a busy time at the palace, another one of transition. The reigns of the Royal Guard and the military were slowly being handed over to the chosen of Prince Endymion. Now between the ages of thirteen and twelve, the current Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoicite, and Jedite had already experienced most of their training. As of the seventh sunwane of the fourth mooncycle, they had most of the training a functioning avant-garde team needed. Yet, they had not had training in linking with other teams that protected the royals and they had not had their Fineta.

The Fineta was a test, one only experienced by those protecting a possible heir to the throne. No other members of the military had even heard of the test, as Finetas were guarded secrets...and often did not start out as tests. In peaceful times, sometimes Finetas were staged, but this had only happened twice in the planet's history. In some more turbulent times, royal guards took many a Fineta, none of which were staged or started out as tests. You stayed on the guard if you passed your Fineta. If you survived and did not pass the Fineta, you were executed.

The guard of King Telluric had their Fineta when then Prince Telluric was targeted at a gathering in Atlantis. Relying on their wits, the four men had to sneak the ruler out of the province to save his life. The guard of Prince Terrius had their Fineta at the Battle of Calif. The rebels had engaged the capital city of AmerWest quickly and without warning on the sunrise that the prince visited. In this case, three men and one woman successfully held off the attack against the country seat of the Duke of AmerWest, where Terrius was staying. They never talked about how they accomplished it and Lieutenant Gore never discussed the strange scar on her thigh.

But that sunwane, the newest royal guard would face their Fineta. In fact, the whole palace would face a Fineta...and not all of the protectors would pass.

Four hours after sunwane and the current royal guard sat in the sitting room just off of the chambers of his royal highness,  
Prince Endymion. As was their habit, they gathered their for their nightly meeting after their liege had retired for the night. After the meeting, the one assigned to moonlight duty would stay in the room while the others would retire to their rooms in the palace. It was because they were among the few awake at the time that they were among the first to hear the disturbance.

Jonathan, having taken to the role of Kunzite, was in the middle of a statement when all four of the teens heard the crash.

"What was that?" Nathaniel asked after a pause.

"I'm not sure," Jordan replied. "But it sounded like a large amount of broken pieces hitting the floor. Maybe a window was broken?"

"Something doesn't feel right," Treggar said.

Jonathan agreed silently with Treggar. Something was wrong.  
"Treggar, take a look out of the window. What do you see?"

The youngest of the royal guard nodded, stood, and walked over to the window. "Not much. There is a strange orange glow off to the west, but-" the young man paused. It wasn't what he saw that worried him, but what he didn't see. "But, I can't see the nightwatch in front of the palace. Which is odd. They would never move this late after sunwane."

That observation in the room caused the inhabitants to become very quiet. After a few beats, Nathaniel turned to Jonathan,  
"Jonathan, what do you think is happening?"

"I think," the young man said soberly, "that this is our Fineta."

That one word changed the air completely in the room. While they were all scared, they all knew their duty. The safety of the prince and realm came first. Jonathan stood. He would make sure that they did not fail.

"Nephrite," the silver-haired boy began in his 'commander voice'  
"Retrieve his royal highness." As Nathaniel nodded and opened the door to the prince's room, Jonathan turned to the others in the room. "Zoicite, without leaving this room, try to find out as much as you can about what is going on out there." Immediately, Jordan moved to the outer door and pressed his ear against it.

As other crashes were now being heard in the palace, along with a few screams, Jonathan turned to Treggar. "Jedite, what tools do we have with us now?"

Blinking a few times, the boy thought for a moment. Then he replied, "We'd have your sword, which you are still wearing.  
The linking system that is on Nephrite, although we still don't know how to use it. And Zoicite's herb bag."

Jonathan sighed. It wasn't much, and he had a feeling that they would not have the time to stock up on more supplies.  
"Jedite, gather everything from this room that we might find remotely useful in the next few days, keeping in mind not to weigh yourself down too much. We and our animals will have to be able to move quickly."

"Yes sir," the young man replied as he began to scan the room.

And, as Jonathan stood there, trying to mask his worry at the ever growing sounds of chaos, he hoped that Nathaniel would hurry. Pushing down his worry, the thirteen year old refused to think about the fact that he was having his first Fineta a good eight years sooner than his father...or,  
that if his hunch was correct, his father was having a Fineta that night as well.

As he opened the door, Nathaniel moved quietly into the room. At first he had thought to kick open the door, but decided against it. The fact that he and the other members of the team had been awake at the sound of the first crash had given them an edge of a handful of moments. There was no need to make any additional sounds yet to let anyone know what they were about. While Jonathan was correct to call it a Fineta, Nathaniel was pretty sure what was happening was a palace invasion. If the invaders didn't know where the prince was sleeping, Nathaniel was not going to make a lot of noise to alert them of his location.

Walking up to the bed, he shook its occupant gently. "Your royal highness."

Prince Endymion shifted and then slowly opened his eyes at hearing his title. "Nathaniel?" he asked as he blinked the sleep from his eyes, "what is happening?"

That question threw the young Nephrite. He decided pretty quickly that he couldn't tell his liege and his friend that the palace was being invaded. Endymion had the heart of his mother and he would immediately worry about the safety of his brothers, parents, and grandparents. In fact, Nathaniel wasn't really sure how Endymion would react to the information.  
At the same time, however, Endy needed to be able to trust them, so he didn't want to lie. 

Deciding on a middle ground that was a combination of truth and omission, he answered, "We are being tested, your royal highness. And, we shall need to with us to verify that we have passed the test. Please come with me."

Confused and still half asleep, but trusting his friend,  
Endymion sat up and began to get out of bed. "They would test you at this hour! The father of Jonathan is very hard on all of you."

Nathaniel didn't comment, he just drew the young prince out of the room, not letting him stop even to grab the top of his sleepwear. And, as the prince followed his friend and protector from the room, he did notice that Nathaniel surveyed the room and was sure to put himself between Endymion and the doors and windows.

When the two entered the sitting room attached to the prince's room, Endymion immediately noticed Jordan by the outer door and Treggar picking up miscellaneous things from around the room.

"Nephrite, heads up," Treggar said as he tossed two things across the room. As Nathaniel caught them, Endymion noticed Nathaniel's stargazer crystal and his own Book of Creationism.  
Endymion thought they were strange things to bring on a test, and, based on the look on Jonathan's face, he agreed,  
even thought he didn't comment.

"Zoicite," Jonathan said as he turned to looked at Jordan,  
"What have you figured out?"

The merchant's son stood and moved away from the door. "Based on the sounds of the crashes and screams, it sounds like the disturbance has entered the palace. I can't tell how big it is or which way it is going. I do know for the moment that the hall outside is clear and that the side exits are gone. We have the options of front and back only"  
he finished.

"Kunzite," Nathaniel turned to Jonathan, "if we double back, we would be in the area near General Hightower.  
We would be two teams deep in addressing the issue"  
Although Nathaniel's statement confused the prince, the others in the room understood. If they headed to the back of the palace, they could meet up with the Telluric's guard. Then, although they would end up protecting three people instead of one, they would be eight people strong in fighting off the invading force.

"True," Jonathan agreed, "but if this is what we fear, and it has invaded the palace, where do you think it is going?" If this was a true palace invasion, well planned enough to have taken out the nightwatchmen and the palace gates so easily, they were planning to attack the royal family, starting with the king and queen. Jonathan thought that any hope they had of getting out would be slipping out of the palace without running into whatever was out there. "We'll take the front. Let's get moving."

And a handful of moments later, five boys raced toward the east stables in a diamond formation, not processing, much less commenting on the chaos around them.

In another room in the palace, a couple had finally fallen to sleep. Much like everyone else in the palace, they had taken the peace of that sunwane for granted. That all changed when their door was kicked open and they heard the shouts of "Your Royal Highnesses, you need to come with us now."

Jolted awake, Terrius and Adaunde immediately sat up to face two of the palace military. The one who leveled the shout was unfamiliar to the couple, but the other solider.  
"Lieutenant Gore, what-?" the princess began to ask. Her husband, upon seeing Gore in the doorway, quickly stood and held out a hand to his wife.

"Adaunde, we shall find out on the way. Let us go"  
Terrius said more tersely than he meant as he tried to keep the fear under control. It had been many mooncycles since he had seen that look on Shannon Gore's face, but he had never forgotten that incident at Calif.

Surprised by her husband's tone but sensing his seriousness,  
the princess took his hand and allowed herself to be helped out of the bed and into the hallway. It was upon leaving the safety of their room that the prince and princess heard the shouts, screams, and crashes echoing through the palace.

"This way," the unknown guard said as he began to lead the royal couple down the hall at a brisk pace. Lieutenant Gore stayed behind the couple, constantly scanning the hall.

"What is happening?" the princess demanded in an extremely worried tone.

"We are getting you out of here, your royal highness"  
Gore replied with no emotion in her voice.

"We are evacuating?" the princess asked startled. She was so startled that she would have stopped running, had she not been pulled by her husband down the hall. "But what about my children?"

"They'll be removed as well, your royal highness," was Gore's short answer.

Before the princess had a chance to answer, a nearby door opened and Sergeant Putnam emerged leading a tired and confused Prince Tremaine out of his bedroom. "Father"  
the young boy asked as he noticed the party rushing toward his door. "What-?"

"Come with me, son. I shall explain later," Terrius insisted tersley as he took Tremaine's hand and continued behind the palace guard in the lead. 

As the group continued in their flight, they rushed by the door of Prince Arlington. Noticing that the group did not even slow, the princess objected, "What about Ling?"

"Your royal highness-" Sergeant Putnam began, only to be cut off by the princess.

"If you think I am leaving my baby behind, you are crazy"  
the mother in Adaunde practically shouted. Breaking away from her husband she headed back toward her youngest son's room.

"Adaunde!" Terrius shouted, the anger in his voice hiding his fear for her safety and the fear that he might be forced to leave her behind.

At that moment, the door to Arlington's room burst open, with a palace guard struggling with an irritated and difficult young prince in tears. "Arlington," the princess breathed in relief as she snatched her youngest from the soldier and ran full tilt back toward her husband. When she reached him, Terrius grabbed her by the waist and the party once again rushed down the hallway.

As they reached a turn in the corridor, they met up with General Kyto. "Gore," he shouted, asking for a report with as few words as possible.

"The hall is clear," the lieutenant returned from her position in the rear. "We think the front is blocked. Ivy, Stallion,  
Silver Lining, and Laughter are with us," she continued,  
referring to the members of the royal family present. 

"Wait," the princess shouted in fear as the party turned the corner, making their way to the back of the palace. "What about Endy?"

"His guard will get him out," Kyto answered in the front.

"So we are just supposed to leave him here?" the princess shouted as the party entered one of the gathering rooms. The party skidded to a halt as they saw the inside of the room.

Blood was all over the floor as dying and dead palace servants lay in various parts of the room. It was truly a scene of carnage, as it was clear and swords and fire had been taken to the occupants of the room. It was truly a scene from a nightmare. As the youngest prince has his face buried in his mother's neck as he cried in fear, he didn't see the carnage, but he did hear his mother's pained. "Oh Creator. Who would do such a thing?"

"We can't go this way," Gore insisted from the back. "We'd be walking right into whatever did this."

"Not necessarily," Kyto countered. "It has already come this way; it might not double-back."

At that moment, a crash was heard in a nearby stairwell and smoke and a ominous orange glow drifted into the room.

Sergeant Putnam let loose a barrage of military foul language.  
Lieutenant Gore shouted, "Everyone out!" and the party was once again ushered into the hallway from which they had just come.

"Do we have a way out of here?" Gore demanded of General Kyto.

"Bryer's engineered a way off the palace grounds for us,  
but I don't how long he can hold onto it with the men he has with him. We have to get out and down there."

"Follow me," Sergeant Putnam insisted and he took off running toward one of the older rooms in the palace. 

The party rushed to follow and soon the group found itself in a little used library in the east wing of the palace. As the last of the guards rushed into the room and slammed and locked the door, the party quieted within. Outside the shouts and screams became louder...along with a few crashes and the sound of footsteps getting closer.

"We don't have long. Where do we go from here, Putnam?"

"Pull on that ledge by the window, Kyto," Putnam said.

Acting without asking, Kyto did as he was told. As he pulled the ledge, a creaking was heard and a doorway appeared in the back wall. "That passage isn't on any of the maps," the general said in surprise.

"And for good reason. It seems that every exit on the maps of the royal palace has been blocked off, set ablaze, or destroyed. This is why all the passages aren't recorded,  
now let's go," Putnam insisted as he crossed the room.

Kyto and Putnam led the way through the tunnel, followed by the very worried royals. As the princess disappeared through the tunnel with Prince Arlington still crying in her arms,  
Lieutenant Gore and a young soldier named Martin heard footfalls right outside the door and then a pounding on the locked door.

"That can't be one of our people," Gore whispered

"Probably not," Martin agreed. "They probably followed our tracks. There was no way we didn't track blood back from the gathering room."

The door to the hallway shuttered as shouts could be heard just outside. "Gore, get out of here!" Martin insisted

"Wait! Someone needs to stay here to make sure they don't follow us into the passage!"

"I'll take care of that, now go!" the subordinate officer shouted as he shoved the higher ranking Gore into the passage and shoved it shut. Just as the passage closed the door shuttered again. The young man figured he had moments left at best and used them to make peace with his creator.

"Gore!" Kyto shouted as he heard the passage shut. The violence of the action had him worried. Although they all knew that their first duty was to the realm and the royal family, Kyto refused to ever have to share with his friend Colonel Howard Clinton that his wife had died protecting the royal family. That is,  
assuming that Howard himself hadn't died trying to protect his daughter and Lady Anderson. But Kyto refused to dwell on that very real possibility.

After a pause, Gore answered, "We were followed. We have moments at best. We need to keep moving as quietly and quickly as possible."

With that statement the party still struggled to navigate the passageway, now mostly in the dark. Although there were stumbles, the party managed to make it through the passage in near silence, as Arlington's crying had become so intense that he could no longer voice noises and Tremaine had been scared into silence.

As they entered the back courtyard, the quickly found General Bryer along with a few men and a covered horse pulled truck. "Let's move," the general insisted and the covered truck was opened and they began to help the royal family in. As Arlington was taken from his mother's arms, protesting even without his voice, the princess finally had a chance to take stock of the destruction.

The palace was ablaze. Shouts and screams still sounded in the air. Broken glass lay scattered on the ground. Horses ran loose. Pandemonium ensued. "It resembles a war zone"  
the princess whispered. And, with that one statement, her eyes widened.

Without really processing her movements, Adaunde began to move away from the truck and back toward the palace. She had only taken about three steps when Kyto grabbed her arm. "Your royal highness, this way," he insisted.

"No, wait. There are still people in there! My mother-"

"Someone will get Lady Anderson out," Kyto hoped that he wasn't lying to the princess, "but we need to get you out first."

"But we have to go back! If I leave it to the guards, only those deemed important shall be saved," the princess objected.

"Because that is our job!" Kyto returned as he attempted to pull the princess back to the truck.

"And my spirit cannot accept that," the princess retorted.  
"I cannot willingly run off and leave people of the realm to die!" Wrenching her arm away from the general, she began to run back toward the palace.

From his position in helping to load people onto the truck,  
Bryer had seen the entire interaction. He had also seen the look on his liege's face as he was pulled into the truck with his wife still on the outside. If asked directly, Bryer would explain all of his actions as part of his job to protect the royal family without question. In reality, while part of him may have even understood the princess' heart, he knew the importance of that woman surviving along with her husband and children.

Muttering a string of military curses, General Bryer took off after the princess. Catching up with her, he grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder and ran back to the truck,  
which by this point was almost completely loaded. Shouting to a nearby subordinate, the general gave his instructions,  
"After we are in, cover the truck and send it on its way over the back field. Then get out of here."

vaulting into the truck with the still struggling princess,  
Bryer shouted the order to move. Before the flap blocked out the natural light of the moon and the unnatural light of the burning palace, Bryer was able to see everyone in the truck: Braxton, Gore, Putnam, Terrius holding a still shaking Arlington, Tremaine close at his side, and Kyto.  
Clamping a hand over the princess' month and pining her to his lap with his other arm, he said, "We must stay quiet until we clear the palace grounds."

And, as the princess made a move as if to object, he whispered in her ear, "Your royal highness, I have a sedation liquid on my person and so help me, I'll use it on you if you don't keep quiet and still."

The threat was enough. The princess fell silent, but tears also fell from her eyes. At some point, especially given their relationship, Bryer hoped to be able to explain his actions. But at the moment, he just had to be sure that she and her family survived...for the good of the realm.

A long time ago someone once joked to Clinton that Military Father was really a contradiction in terms. Fathers protected their families first; military often had to leave their families to fend for themselves as they protected the realm.  
While nightwatchmen sometimes faced similar issues, many military men, and some military women, who had families had to balance the safety of their own families with the safety of the realm.

That sunwane such a conflict of interest faced Clinton, although he did not process it until much later.

The attack caught them all by surprise, most of the military in the palace losing precious moments trying to get a handle on what was going on. As groups split up to evacuate the royals, Clinton ran down a familiar hallway, knowing he had to reach someone else first.

As he opened the door, the object of his concern stirred from the bed. "Daddy?" the sleepy voice of his ten year old daughter floated to the door. "What is it?"

Watching his daughter rub sleep from her eyes, Clinton knew he didn't have the heart to scare her with the truth, but he had to get her out of there. "Sweetie,  
wake up. Remember how you always want to play soldier with me?" the colonel found himself saying. At his daughter's nod, he continued, "Well, let's go play"  
he said, holding out his hand.

Kay-Leigh smiled and quickly bounded off of her bed, happy to spend time with her father, although she was passed the age of wanting to play at being a soldier. Still, she was fascinated by the work of her parents, and she thought her father might have some other reason for waking her at that hour that he did not wish to share. After taking her father's hand, he looked out into the hall and then rushed her down a corridor. Once out of her room she could hear the confusion, shouts, and screams. It did worry her a little, but, as long as she was with her daddy, she believed she was completely safe. So, she stayed close and mimicked him all the way to Lady Anderson's chamber.

The colonel was honestly surprised at how calm his daughter was in the confusion. The princess had mentioned to him when his wife was with Kay-Leigh that military daughters were different,  
less delicate than their counterparts in the other classes. She also said they tended to look up to their fathers. He hadn't really believed the princess until this moment, and he was grateful. Such calmness may also be present in the mother of the princess, as she too, was a military daughter.

When they reached Lady Anderson's door, the colonel debated within himself how to proceed. Kicking down the door may startle the lady unnecessarily,  
but, he also had to communicate with her that the situation was serious. Pulling on old military knowledge, he knocked on the door with two swift knocks, followed by a pound.

Responding true to form, the voice of Lady Anderson came through the door. "How is the sky?" she asked as part of the code.

"All clear," the colonel replied.

At this the door opened and the former colonel's widow stepped swiftly into the hall. "I heard the commotion. What procedure are we operating under"  
the lady asked.

"If only we had a procedure," Clinton muttered under his breath. Ignoring the raised eyebrow of Lady Anderson, he answered as honestly as he could given their situation, "A," he replied, giving voice to the letter that troubled many a military person. Not giving Lady Anderson much time to react he took her hand and with his daughter hanging onto his other hand, he continued to head toward the back of the palace.

"A?" the lady breathed in shock. "Oh, Creator! My daughter-"

"Is with her husband. His guard will get her out,  
my lady," Clinton assured Lady Anderson.

By this point, they had reached a T in the hallway.  
Although the footfalls and the screams were clearly increasing behind them, Clinton didn't know which way to turn. To go to the left would put him near General Hightower and the king and queen; it might increase his resources or it might put him headlong into whatever was causing this disturbance. But to go the right...he wasn't sure there was a way out way.

"The slide," his daughter suddenly said out of nowhere.

"What?" he turned to look at her.

"The slide," the daughter said. "It's a cool set of stairs that go out to the garden. They creak and everything. Can we take them, Daddy? Please?" his daughter asked as she began to pull him to the right. Having figured out from the sounds in the palace that they had to get out, Kay-Leigh hoped that her pose of begging to play a game would get her father to use the little known exit. For some reason she had a rather bad feeling about heading towards the king and queen's chambers.

Not completely sure what was going on, but deciding to trust his daughter, Clinton agreed. "Lead the way quickly."

A handful of moments later, the three had rushed down a set of hidden steps and out into one of the palace gardens. "Clinton, where do we go from here?" Lady Anderson asked.

"Lord and Lady Morte-Vida's estate. The royal advisors actually went home this sunwane with their daughter. Not only do they need to know what's going on, it's a good place to regroup. Kay-Leigh, you know the way from here,  
right?" His daughter nodded, having walked little Keiko Morte-Vida back to the estate for her parents. "Then lead the way and be careful. There is a link I have to make."

So, as he followed his daughter and Lady Anderson away from the unnaturally orange glowing palace, Clinton reached for his link box. Understanding that he might not get an answer but that people were probably listening, he relayed the important information in code, "This is Clinton. Have Lady Arms. Going to safe haven. Will await contact."

After a pause, Clinton realized that someone else may be listening and that someone else would be greatly worried about Kay-Leigh, although there would nothing she could do about it at that moment. "This is Clinton.  
Have Lady Arms and two-thirds. Will await contact," he added, hoping that the former Jedite would understand what he was trying to tell her.

Somehow, the five teens had managed to get out of the palace. While exiting, they had heard terrible screams and shouts, but had not seen much of anything disturbing on their way out of the front. Riding in diamond formation,  
they found themselves on the somewhat familiar Sporku Hill.

Pausing on that hill, the boys steadied their horses and began to look at each other. "What do we do now?" Treggar asked.

"We need to find a safe house and we need to think about linking with the other protection groups," Jonathan said.

"That last may be difficult," Nathaniel admitted. "I have the linking system with me and it is on, but I do not know how to link with the others. And, I would rather not try until we are in a safe and less open space."

At this point, the prince cleared his throat. Shivering slightly in the after sunwane air, he asked, "What has happened? Nathaniel said that this was a test, but the noises that came from the palace as we left and the fact that we left at all-"

The four other boys looked at each other. "It was a test,  
a test of our ability to do our job," Nathaniel insisted.

"Your royal highness," Jonathan began as he looked at his friend, knowing that he would not take this news well, "we think that the palace was attacked this sunwane. We don't know by who or why, but we think they mean...meant harm to your family."

The prince sat in shock for a moment. "Oh Creator, my parents-" he began worriedly.

"Are together and the royal guard of his highness shall keep them safe. If Jonathan can get you out, then his father can assuredly get your father out. And between them, his royal highness and General Kyto shall remove your mother from the palace as well," Nathaniel reassured.

Jonathan threw Nathaniel a dirty look for the hidden jab, but let it slide as he understood that Nathaniel was merely trying to reassure the prince.

"But my brothers and my grandparents-" the prince continued

"Are fine, I'm sure. Lots of people would be working to get them out," Jonathan replied.

At that moment, the group heard a crackling coming from Nathaniel's belt. "The linking," Nathaniel said. "Someone must be about to send a message."

Less than a moment after Nathaniel's comment, the five boys heard the following clearly over the link, "This is Clinton. Have Lady Arms. Going to safe haven. Will await contact."

"What does that mean?" his royal highness asked aloud.

"It means that Colonel Clinton has gotten out and he has your grandmother, Lady Kyanna Anderson, with him," Jordan answered his royal highness.

Before the group could comment again, the strong voice of Colonel Howard Clinton floated out again, "This is Clinton.  
Have Lady Arms and two-thirds. Will await contact."

"Okay," Jonathan turned everyone's attention back to him.  
"Obviously, the protection forces are beginning to talk.  
Given that Nephrite wants a safe space to figure out how to relay our information out, we need to find a safe house now. Somewhere where the attackers wouldn't think to look,  
but where we can hide safely."

"I know a place," Treggar said softly. "It is not that far from here and no one would ever think of looking for a prince there."

"Is it safe?" Nathaniel asked.

"Yes," Treggar insisted. And, after the go-ahead from Jonathan, Treggar led the four others to a tavern which had a stocked barn behind it. The arrival of her son the member of the royal guard was bound to shock his mother, but a nightwatchman tavern was probably one of the safest places this side of the capital city.

Long moments after a combination of royal and military persons had piled into the back of a covered truck,  
the now Captain Braxton said to the silent group, "We have finally crossed out of the palace grounds."

"Good," Bryer said as he let her highness go. Ignoring the princess' reproachful look as she scrambled off of him and over to her husband and children, Bryer continued,  
"Kyto, about linking,"

The other general shook his head in the darkness, "The link is open, but I'm not sure if the attackers can track a sent message. I'm not going to try to send any messages until we are military territory. If they are going to follow us, I want lots of swords ready to mobilize at a moment's notice."

"Understood," Bryer said. He was about to open his mouth to say more, when the link crackled. Unnatural silence fell again as those in the truck waited to hear who was contacting them and why.

Finally, over the link came a familiar voice. "This is Clinton. Have Lady Arms. Going to safe haven.  
Will await contact."

Kyto turned in the direction of the royals, not really being able to see them too clearly in the covered truck. "Your mother has been safely evacuated out,  
Princess Adaunde."

"Thank the creator," a shaky voice whispered from the other side of the truck.

"Only Lady Arms is with him?" came a quiet question from Gore.

The princess' gasp of "Oh Shannon," was almost completely drowned out by another crackle of the link. Once again, the strong voice of the head of the princess' security rang out,  
"This is Clinton. Have Lady Arms and two thirds.  
Will await contact."

It was a small sigh of relief that communicated that at least one fear was put to rest.

Silence fell again until it was announced that they were in the military section of the city. Before long, they had arrived at the safe house. While other nearby military households were waking up and people were beginning to talk about orders and mobilization, this party quickly unloaded and rushed into the safe house through the back. The option of sleep was offered to the royal family,  
who refused it.

As the royal family sat on the couch in the front sitting room, the princess next to the prince, with Arlington clinging to his father and Tremaine hanging onto his mother's arm, the guard began to spread out. Gore immediately left the front room to check supplies in the house.  
Putnam had stepped outside to assess the activity in the area. Bryer stood near the couch, waiting for Prince Terrius to ask for information. And,  
off to the side, Kyto began to initiate a link.

Taking a deep breath, Kyto linked to the other protection groups. "This is Kyto. Am backed up by Braxton, Gore, Putnam, and Bryer. Have Stallion, Ivy, Silver Lining and Laughter. At safe house. Request Clinton meeting."

Within moments of his finishing, the crackling preceded a quick response. "This is Clinton.  
At safe haven. Have Lady Arms, two-thirds, Thought, Wisdom, and Conscience. Leaving for safe house."

After Clinton's voice faded from the room, Prince Terrius finally spoke, "What has happened, Bryer?  
Kyto?"

"Unfortunately, we don't know much at the moment"  
Bryer admitted. "We think there has been an attack on the palace. By whom and why, we have no idea. It was a pretty well informed attack; they caught us off guard and quickly took out many of the exits."

Kyto picked up the narrative as he walked toward the royals, "This is our safe house for you. Colonel Clinton is on his way with his daughter, Lady Anderson, and the Morte-Vida family. You'll probably want to talk to them about next moves after you have more information."

Terrius and Adaunde both looked at each other. Besides being worried about the lack of information, they were also concerned about the welfare of unmentioned people.  
"And my son?" the princess finally asked in a quiet voice "What of him?"

"I'm sure he is fine," Kyto attempted to assure the obviously worried mother. "Neither Nephrite nor the others are well versed in using the linking system, but we'll get information on them very soon I'm sure. Your son is fine," Kyto repeated again, hoping repetition would make it real.

Tremaine whimpered at his mother's side and she pulled him into her lap. "I worry about him," the princess admitted. "I shall worry about him until I can touch him, as I can touch his brothers," the princess insisted as she patted her middle child on his back.

Before anyone could respond to the princess, the link crackled again. Biting off a curse, Kyto pulled his link box from his belt, trying to hear what was coming over the link.

"crack Neph- crack Nephrite-" a familar voice tried to get through.

After an exclamation, Kyto started speaking into the link. "This is Kyto. Nephrite, listen. Stop touching the link box and listen. There is a small silver disk on the left of the box, with two sideways symbols for mooncycle joined at the top. Turn that disk until the symbol is at the bottom. That will tune you to me.  
Then talk."

After a pause another crackle was heard. And then,  
"This is Nephrite. Am backed up by Kunzite, Zoicite,  
and Jedite. Pony is with us. At alternative safe house.  
Will remain until called. Awaiting instructions."

Kyto allowed himself a sigh of relief before replying,  
"Understood. Condition of pony?"

"Pony is slightly chilled and agitated, but well." There was a pause, as if Nephrite was responding to something in the room with him before the link came to life again.  
"Pony is curious about condition of stallion and his trappings."

"Stallion and trappings are shaken, but fine. Put pony at ease."

"Also," the other side of the link added, "Kunzite orders a round-up team, if one is not already in place."

"Understood. At your pleasure," Kyto signed off before returning to the royals and Bryer. Noting that Gore and Putnam had also just returned to the room, Kyto was glad to be able to translate the information that the whole room had just heard.

"Your royal highnesses," he began, addressing the worried parents, "your son is safe. His royal guard have him in a safe place. Nephrite reports that he is a little shaken up, but fine." Turning to Bryer, but also being sure that Terrius could hear this next piece,  
"Kunzite had ordered that we send a team back to the palace to try and catch the invaders and take stock of the damage."

"Understood," Putnam said from behind. "If Bryer will grant leave, legion forty is outside awaiting instructions."

Bryer nodded. "Leave so given." 

As Putnam exited the front, three sharp knocks were heard at the back door. "That would be Clinton"  
Gore guessed. "Your orders, sir?" she asked Bryer.

"Confirm that it is Clinton and then let his party in. We have much to discuss."

Nodding the former Jedite set off to the back of the house. After confirming that it was indeed her husband outside, she quickly let them in.

As the party spilled into the house, and Clinton shut the door, it was the cry of "Mommy," that captivated the military woman. 

With a shout of joy at seeing her other parent,  
Kay-Leigh let go of little Lady Keiko Morte-Vida's hand and rushed toward her mother, who leaned down and caught her in a hug. Her mother just held her for a moment. Then she let her go and stood again,  
but, because of the tight grip her mother held on her hand, Kay-Leigh knew that her mother was very relieved to see her.

"Lady Anderson, Lord and Lady Morte-Vida, it is good to see you. Their royal highnesses are in the front room. I'll take you there now," Gore addressed the group in front of her. Turning,  
she led them back into the front room.

She had let herself worry more than she ought, Lady Anderson mentally chastised herself as she followed Lieutenant Gore toward the front room. Her daughter was now a royal; she had more protection now than she had ever had at any time in her life. Of course she would be fine. Her Dawn also wasn't personally defenseless; she did have some of the best aim in the realm.

When she reached the front room, the widow scanned the faces, looking for the ones most important to her.  
She noticed Kyto's warring expressions of relief and worry, held under tight reign as to not concern the royals. She noticed Gore and Clinton's relief and worry that they kept in their eyes. She saw Bryer's impassive face, which worried her because, while she didn't trust him, she knew that commanding officers only wore that look in the worse of times. Finally,  
her eyes fell on her only child, "Dawn,"

"Mama," her daughter whispered as tears began to follow down the forty-two year olds face. She was obviously trying to give comfort and hope to the child in her lap, but there was precious little of it in her own eyes.

"Oh, Dawn," Kyanna said as she rushed across the room and gave her daughter a hug.

"You are well," Adaunde said after the hug. "I was so worried, with all the shouts and smoke and," Adaunde's voice broke slightly. "I was afraid I would not see you again."

"Dawn, you know better than that. I'm a fighter, whether people insist on calling me a lady or not," Kyanna said, giving her daughter a small smile.

For the next few moments, Kyanna attempted to reassure herself that her family was safe. She received a frantic hug from her grandson Tremaine before he quickly buried himself back in his mother's arms. He remained unnaturally quiet the either time. She held her youngest grandson in her arms and calmed his silent, violent tears to mere whimpers before handing him back to his father. She was able to talk briefly with her son by marriage. His sad smile with his greeting of "Mom" nearly broke her heart. And she was assured of her eldest grandson's safety, although no one in the room knew his exact whereabouts.

As Lord and Lady Morte-Vida were brought up to speed by her son by marriage and daughter, Lady Anderson stepped off to the side, trying to stay out of the way. It was from this vantage point that she saw young Kay-Leigh entertaining Lady Keiko Morte-Vida.  
It was also from this point that she saw and heard the whispered conference between Kyto and Bryer. She didn't know if they didn't notice her or merely failed to remember her background and therefore think she wouldn't understand their concern. Regardless, she strained to hear, wanting to know about any threats to her daughter and her family even if she couldn't do any about them herself.

With the royals in deep conversation with their advisors,  
Kyto pulled his commanding officer aside. "Bryer, I'm Worried. We haven't heard from Hightower yet."

"I'm aware of that, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything," Bryer insisted.

"Yes, it does. Look," Kyto began, "We aren't talking about green protectors like Nephrite who wouldn't know how to link. We've actually heard from them! Hightower's team is seasoned and effective. They would have sent word somehow by now."

"He just may be in a situation where it would not be prudent to link. You yourself put off linking until we were here," Bryer pointed out.

"Even if that is true, that isn't a good sign. Either he's in a situation where it isn't safe to link, or-"

"He can't link," Bryer finished, not pleased with the few explanations of why a former Kunzite would be unable to initiate a link.

"And for Hightower not to have contacted us...that does not bode well for the king and queen," Kyto voiced.

Bryer shook his head as if to dismiss the concern, "We have enough burning pile to deal with. Let's not add anything else to this mess until we have to."

"Understood."

Sometime later, after the house had quieted, he stood looking out at the horizon as the sun rose. Sunrises and Sunwanes were a constant; he had thought that a lot of other things were constants as well. After the events of the past night, the only constants he felt comfortable in believing in were the presence of the Creator, the love of wife, the ability of his guard, and the presence of sunrises and wanes.

"Terry," a soft voice said as familiar arms wrapped around his waist. 

"Adaunde," he acknowledged his wife as she returned to his side. "How are our sons?"

"Still sleeping. I am still amazed at how my mother managed to get all of the children to sleep. She is asleep herself at the moment, everyone is resting together in one bed." Adaunde smiled sadly. "It would have been cute in any other circumstance..."

"I understand," Terrius said. "You do realize that you do not have to check on them every few moments.  
We are in a safe house; they are perfectly protected here."

"We would have said the same thing about the palace two sunrises ago," the princess responded bitterly.  
At her husband's stiffening by her side, she sighed.  
"I apologize. I am still worried, it seems. And I check on Tremmy and Ling so much because I cannot check upon my Endy."

The prince put an arm around his wife. "He is fine,  
Adaunde. As soon as the palace is declared safe, we shall all meet up there and you can see him."

The princess nodded. "When I see him, I shall give him a big hug. And then I shall give everyone in his guard a big hug for protecting him for us."

At that, Terrius turned to look at his wife. "Everyone? Even Jonathan!"

"Even Jonathan," Adaunde acknowledged. "And then, I shall hit them all, starting with Jonathan for making me worry so about the safety of my son!"

Terrius smiled at his wife's threat, but the smile soon slipped to a pensive look as his gaze returned to the horizon.

"Terrius, what is troubling you?" his wife asked quietly.

"What is not troubling me might be an easier question to answer, given recent events."

"True," his wife agreed, "but something is troubling you greatly at this moment. What is it?"

The prince sighed. "I am concerned that we have heard nothing on the condition or whereabouts of my parents. General Hightower or someone on his team should have sent word by now."

"Terry, it was pure chaos at the palace when we left. Based on the reports filtering back from the team sent back to the palace, it is still chaotic now. Word may be delayed or waylaid, but it is coming."

With a noise of frustration, Terrius broke away from his wife and turned away from the window. "I do not understand! Who or what attacked us? Why? What did they hope to accomplish? How did they catch us so unprepared and unawares? W-"

"Terry," his wife said as she moved to stand in front of him. "I know-"

The rest of her statement was cut off as she noticed her husband's eyes moved toward one of the doorways behind her. Turning, Adaunde saw a serious Kyto standing just over the threshold.  
"General, is there news?" she asked.

"We need to talk," is all the general would say.

He had been in the kitchen when the word came.  
It was his job to watch over the rear of the safe house. Gore and Clinton were also in the kitchen. Clinton was trying to round up food to feed the people still awake in the house; Gore had made and was pouring cups of uplift for everyone. No one really thought much about what made the ground beans and leaves able to produce an energizing drink when soaked with hot water, but many stood by its ability to open up the senses and help one stay alert.

They had thought to ask the prince into the kitchen to sit with them, but he appeared so deep in thought by the window that no one had the heart to disturb him. With no word yet from the team guarding his father, many of the decisions normally left to the king had fallen into his lap. As he had also had no sleep, it was decided it would be best to leave him to his thoughts.

The loud crackling was startling in the watchful silence of the kitchen. Kyto immediately pulled off his link box and Gore and Clinton quickly fixed their attention to the transmission coming over the link.

"This is Jamison of Legion 40 Alpha team. Have rounded up remaining invading forces and are holding them. Have entered the throne room."

"Jamison," Kyto responded, "Have you any word from Hightower?"

"Not-" suddenly Jamison stopped speaking. The link picked up a string of expletives and a voice shouting, "Kingston! Report!"

"Jamison! Jamison, what in terra firma is going on there!"

After a pause, the link crackled again, "Jamison here.  
It appears that we have located Hightower."

"Get him on the link," Kyto ordered.

"That isn't possible...sir," was the response.

"Not possible! Jamison!"

Before a reply could be sent, another string of expletives came through the link. While the first set had sounded worried and affronted, these sounded downright angry.

"Jamison! Report!"

"We've" this time the crackling was more in Jamison's voice than in the link itself, "We've found the king and queen." This statement was followed by another expletive.

"Jamison, what are you saying?" Kyto asked quietly.

After a deep breath, the formal announcement came through,  
"Calla lilies are our new flower of the heart; our lion has passed on." Then the link was cut.

The reaction in the kitchen was varied. Gore swiftly sat down in a chair, clearly in shock. Clinton, quickly went to denial, insisting that such a fate wasn't possible,  
not with the seasoned team of Hightower protecting the king and queen. Kyto just turned away and let out a string of foul language and a few tears.

Quickly pulling himself together, Kyto turned to face the others in the room. "Clinton, wake Lady Anderson and bring her to the front room," As Clinton blinked and then left to follow the order, Kyto turned to the other person in the room, "Gore, where are Lord and Lady Morte-  
Vida?"

"Asleep in one of the spare rooms, I think," she replied.

"Find them, wake them, and bring them to the front room."

"Yes, sir," the militarywoman responded as she left her chair.

After both had left the room, Kyto walked toward the front room. Stopping at the door, he saw Terrius and Adaunde in conversation. Not sure of the best way to address them or to announce his presence, he merely stood just in the room. Soon Terrius caught his eye and Adaunde turned to face him. He didn't hear her question; in fact, he barely registered Clinton and Lady Anderson coming down the steps, Gore leading the Morte-Vidas into the room, or Bryer and Putnam rejoining the group. "We need to talk," was what he managed to get out.

After Kyto's rather chilling statement, the other adults in the room prepared themselves for serious news. Adaunde led her husband over to the couch,  
made him sit, and sat next to him. Lady Anderson moved to stand to one side of the couch, the Morte-Vidas stood to the other with Bryer next to them. All eyes turned to Kyto.

"You have news, general?" Terrius finally asked.

"Yes, there is news. Unfortunately, it is not good news...your majesties."

The change in title greatly affected those in the room who did not hear Jamison's original communication.  
Bryer froze in shock. Lady Morte-Vida gasped and was pulled into the arms of her husband. Putnam barely managed to muffle a few expletives. Lady Anderson had grabbed the arm of the couch and was squeezing tightly.

Terrius had paled. His wife clung to his arm, disbelief and confusion warring in her eyes. "What?" she gasped.

"What are you saying, Kyto?" Terrius demanded quietly.

Sighing with a heavy heart, the general turned first to Adaunde and began to utter the traditional phrases that heralded the end of one era and the beginning of another. "The scent of magnolias is past. We now turn to the sent of calla lilies to guide us," he began.

As tears began to roll down Adaunde's face, Kyto turned his attention to Terrius and uttered one of the hardest phrases for anyone to say, "The king is dead. Long live the king."

Lady Morte-Vida began to cry in earnest at this confirmation of their worst fears. Lady Anderson bowed her head out of respect, a few tears hitting the floor. Bryer demanded the status of Telluric's guard and palled considerably when Kyto confirmed the death of Hightower and his entire team.

Adaunde turned to look at her husband, struggling to find a way to comfort him. Looking at his pale face and feeling his loss only caused her to cry harder. So she sobbed into his shoulder as she clung to him. 

For his part, Terrius was frozen. He couldn't seem to cry himself, so, in a way he was grateful that his wife could cry for both of them. So many emotions battled within him, but he seemed to shut-down without.  
His only thought was that he had to have answers...and then go on for the sake of the realm.

"Who did this?" Terrius demanded, his voice frightening in its quiet intensity. "Why?"

"We do not know, your majesty. Jamison's team has rounded up some of the invaders. After the palace has been cleared and an area found for the royals to stay upon your return, the next task is to interrogate the prisoners. We should know who and why then."

"I want to be present at the interrogation," Terrius insisted.

"Your roy...your majesty, that may not be the best course of action," Lord Nippon Morte-Vida began.

"It's not safe!" General Bryer objected.

The only indication his wife gave of hearing the demand was to hug him tighter as she continued crying. Terrius wasn't sure what to make of that, but he knew that he was not changing his mind. "I shall be there, that is not a request."

"Understood, your majesty," Bryer conceded.

At that moment a crackling was heard in the room. Since the room was wrapped up in their own reactions to the news, they barely heard the request from the other end.  
"This is Nephrite. Malfunction with link has blocked intel. Kunzite wants report from Kyto."

"Kyto, answer the call," Bryer ordered. "They need to know what has happened."

Stepping away from the couch, Kyto prepared to deliver the awful news again. "This is Kyto. Awaiting instructions."

"This is Nephrite. Kyto, there are rumors flying everywhere. What has happened? Who is with you?"

Kyto detested giving such devastating information this way, but he didn't have a choice. "Am backed up by Bryer, Putnam, Gore and Clinton. Have with us two-thirds, Conscience, Widsom, Thought, Lady Arms, Laughter, Silver Lining, Ivy and...and Lion.  
Have received report from Jamison."

After a crackle came back, "Wait a minute! Lion!  
What happened to Stallion? Where is Grace? What report?"

"Yes, Lion. Stallion is now with you."

"What are you saying, Kyto?" Nephrite's voice demanded with a hard edge.

Kyto found himself repeating what Jamison had told him,  
"Calla lilies are our new flower of the heart; our lion has passed on. Pass this along to stallion."

Kyto knew his message had gotten through when a string of military profanity floated over the airways. In another situation, Kyto thought he might have been amused at how much military foul language the young lord had pick up in twenty four mooncycles, but given the situation it was just another reaction. Kyto delivered the rest of the information he had after the profanity ceased and signed off. He didn't even his replacement the news he would have to pass on to Prince Endymion.

An hour after sunrise and Nephrite had felt there was a problem. After arriving at the tavern, and meeting the very shocked serving wench Alissa Lightmaker who was Treggar's mother, the five had settled into the tavern barn as best as they could. They had been able to send one message and receive several, but the on-going silence as the night went on worried the young noble greatly. It was for that reason he attempted to link with Kyto.

"This is Nephrite. Malfunction with link has blocked intel. Kunzite wants report from Kyto." The last part was true as well. Jonathan was rather antsy at not knowing what had be happening over the last hours.

After a long pause, there was a response. "This is Kyto. Awaiting instructions."

The young noble quickly replied, firing out questions hoping for answers for this uneasy feeling he had had for awhile. "This is Nephrite. Kyto, there are rumors flying everywhere. What has happened? Who is with you?"

There seemed to be hesitation over the link before Kyto responded, "Am backed up by Bryer, Putnam, Gore and Clinton. Have with us two-thirds, Conscience, Widsom, Thought, Lady Arms, Laughter, Silver Lining, Ivy and...and Lion. Have received report from Jamison."

Nephrite blinked. Based on that report, there were at least two people missing. Why would Kyto list the king as being present, but not the queen? And what had happened to Prince Terrius, who was with Kyto when he last reported? Nephrite quickly demanded clarification, "Wait a minute! Lion! What happened to Stallion? Where is Grace? What report?"

"Yes, Lion. Stallion is now with you," was all Kyto said in return.

Lord Nathaniel Sato, Nephrite of the royal guard, suddenly got a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. In his last gazing he had seen premonitions of turmoil for the current mooncycle, but he never thought that it would be something like this. Or that the sign he had seen for regime change meant anything more than the changing of the royal guard.

"What are you saying, Kyto?" Nephrite's voice demanded with a hard edge.

The reply he received before Kyto cut the line confirmed everything Nathaniel feared, "Calla lilies are our new flower of the heart; our lion has passed on. Pass this along to stallion."

Nathaniel knew that he let some of his anger out in words that nobles shouldn't know, but this loss made no sense! It was wrong. And he was the one to have to tell his royal highness.

"I assume that we have news," Jonathan's voice floated over from the other side of the barn, where he sat with Jordan, Treggar, and Endymion. 

"Yes," Nathaniel rose and he crossed the space between him and his colleagues. After he sat down, he looked up at his liege...and found himself tongue-tied.

"Nathaniel?" Prince Endymion asked, "What did Kyto say. Have they heard from Hightower?"

"Kyto related a report from Jamison, who was among the people sent back to retake the palace. They have managed to capture some behind the invasion; Kyto has reported this information to their majesties."

"To my grandparents?" Endymion asked, confused,  
"But why could not Hightower inform them? And what about my parents? Did not Kyto talk to them as well?"

Nathaniel sighed. "Kyto did talk to your parents.  
Your royal highness," Nathaniel paused for a moment. "Your royal highness, I am sorry to inform you that Queen Honoria and King Telluric are dead. King Terrius and Queen Adaunde have been informed of the change by Kyto. That is all I know."

"What?" Endymion gasped at Nathaniel's clarification.  
Ignoring the various reactions of his guard around him, the heir to the throne prove he was equally his mother and father's son as tears ran down his face as he demanded in a frightening quiet voice,  
"Who did this? Why?"

"We do not know," Nathaniel answered honestly.  
"After the palace has been stabilized, they shall question the invaders that were apprehended. We shall know then.'

"I want to be at the questioning," Endymion said.

"Absolutely not!" Jonathan immediately objected.

"I can order that you allow me to go," Endymion growled angrily as he turned to face the head of his guard.

"And I can overrule that order in the interest of your safety!" Jonathan fired back. "Look,  
Endy," the silver haired teen tried to reason with his friend, "I can understand that you want to know why and you want to see justice done. But these people are dangerous. They systematically took out the palace, practically conquered it, and killed our king and queen before we had completely processed what had happened. We didn't even see them coming!  
As we do not yet know what they are capable of, I don't even want you in the same room as that slime! The realm has already lost enough!"

That seemed to quiet the prince as he nodded and then seemed to turn into himself as he continued to cry. The barn slowly quieted until all that could be heard were sniffles as five boys battled with their grief.

This meeting was almost a mooncycle in the making. It had been several sunrises before the palace was stable enough for the royal family to return. And, though the people were still horrified about the vicious murders of their King Telluric and Queen Honoria, they managed a cheer as their beloved royals, Terrius and Adaunde, returned to the palace. True to her word, the now Queen Adaunde rushed to hug her son when he arrived with his guard. But there was little time for reunions, as the former king and queen had to be committed to terra firma.

It wasn't until after his parents had been buried that King Terrius and several other military officers questioned the invaders.  
Two sunrises after that questioning, this library near the throne room was filled with people who were to decide what to do next.

The table was headed at one end by the now King Terrius, who would make the final decision.  
To his right sat Lord Nippon Morte-Vida, General Bryer, General Kyto, Sergeant Putnam, Lieutenant Gore, and Colonel Clinton. To the king's left sat his son's royal guard with Kunzite next to Terrius, with Nephrite, Zocite, and Jedite seated on the other side of Kunzite. Next to Jedite sat the commander of legion forty, General Armistad Jamison, with Lady Morte-Vida to his left.

Prince Endymion had been discouraged from attending this meeting. Instead, he, along with his brothers and grandmother continued to receive well-wishes and sympathy from the people of the realm who had journeyed to the palace on that sunrise. Queen Adaunde was in attendance, however. She sat, pale and resolute at the other end of the table.

After everyone was seated, Bryer rose and began to give his report. Although his majesty was aware of all Bryer was about to relate, the others in the room were not. Placing a written copy of his report in front of his majesty, the general began.

"They call themselves the Basque. They claim oppression and tyranny at the hands of Telluric and Honoria. Based upon this claim and other claims of injury, they plotted to travel to the royal city, destroy the palace, and murder the entire royal family.

"They seem to have built up a strong ideology to explain this action. They claim it was the will of the planet. They prattled on about a saving dark force that would rid the planet of 'Telluric filth.' They told us they had no fear in death and that, in the end, they would be victorious."

Bryer took a deep breath as he concluded. "We couldn't get more out of them. To be honest,  
we are unsure of their mental state. It is customary to execute people guilty of killing a royal, but other than that. I have no recommendation, your majesty."

"Do we know were they are located? Where they could launch another attack from and if they could launch such an attack in the near future"  
Kunzite asked of his father.

"We were able to puzzle out that they are from a backwater area near the province of Atlantis.  
Their attack launching capability is unknown"  
was the reply.

"How did they know how to attack the palace so effectively?" Nephrite asked, "And what have we put in place so this never happens again?"

"Apparently, this attack was mooncycles in the making," Kyto answered. "They bought all knowledge sold on the palace; an advance team came to the capital city and lived here for at least two mooncycles. It is possible that a few of them may have temporarily worked at the palace. We have taken steps to make changes in the palace as we rebuild the damaged areas and to limit the public information on the palace."

"What do we do about the Basque?" Jedite voiced the question as everyone turned their attention to the king.

Terrius sighed as he stood. He battled with himself over a course of action for the last sunrise. In the past, some form of military action would be taken, but he had seen from living with his wife that misunderstandings had grown up about the royals from those people and classes that did not have ready access to them. He also remembered the charge he had accepted from his father by marriage. "I propose that we sent a diplomatic team to meet with the Basques that are not in our holding area and try to work out some kind of peace-"

"No!" a shrill cry erupted from the other end of the table. The queen had jumped to her feet in the middle of her husband's speech.  
As her chair crashed to the ground, she screamed, "Peace! You cannot be serious!"

Startled by her violent reaction, Terrius attempted to calm his wife, "Adaunde-"

"No! I shall not stand hear and hear that group"  
the queen practically spat, "and PEACE uttered in the same sentence!"

"What do you propose to do, then, your majesty"  
Kyto asked, hoping that the opening would allow the queen to calm herself.

"We need to attack. We need to kill them, make them pay for what they have done to us!"

Terrius was shocked at his normally peaceful wife's strong call for war. As he continued to stare at his sobbing, emotional wife at the other end of the table, Nippon spoke up to say, "Military action is a traditional response,  
your majesty. To protect ourselves from another attack, it would be prudent to engage their military."

"No, that is not enough!" the queen shouted.  
"I want them all dead."

"All, your majesty?" Nephrite asked.

"Yes, all. Men, women and children. The Basque who knew about the plot and the ones that did not.  
Their friends and their heirs. I want them wiped off of terra firma, so that the ground shall not even remember them!"

The entire room was stunned at the violence suggested by their normally kind queen. "Your majesty-" Kyto began, only to be cut off by the queen.

"No, do not dare to try to calm me, Kyto. You or Nephrite," she said as she turned her stare on the young noble briefly. "We have to kill them all. Bryer,  
surely you at least see the merit in this! All of them! Full Basque, half Basque, Quarter Basque. All of them must die. We cannot leave even one to rise up an attack us another sunrise!"

"Adaunde," her husband looked on in shock, "What about restraint? Mercy?"

"Restraint!" the queen shrieked "Did they show restraint in the way they set fire to our home?  
Restraint in how they brutally attacked those who only worked in the palace? Did they show mercy to Queen Honoria? Would they have shown mercy to our children or to me had they caught us"  
Adaunde demanded of her husband.

Turning, she looked at the others at the table.  
"Would they have shown mercy to Lady Bella and Lady Keiko if your family had been in the palace that sunwane, Lord Morte-Vida? And Clinton, Gore, do you not have nightmares of what these animals would have done if they had gotten to Kay-Leigh? What has mercy gained us but pain?"

"But, your majesty," Lady Bella began, "should behave in the same way as our attackers?"

"This is not the same," the queen said, her eyes blazing. "They attacked us first with no warning.  
They killed our king and queen. Our parents, our grandparents." She growled, "They have attacked my family. I shall not stand for them to receive mercy."

"Your majesty," Kunzite turned to the king, "it is your final decision. We'll abide by whatever you decide."

Terrius bowed his head to think.

"Terrius!" his wife shouted, almost incoherent through her eyes. "You cannot mean for them to live! Terrius!"

Terrius took a deep breath and raised his head,  
his face a blank slate, masking his feelings.

"Terrius!" his wife pleaded.

After a handful of moments, Terrius finally spoke.  
"You heard her majesty. Wipe them off terra firma."

With his pronouncement, the queen collapsed on the floor in tears. Lady Bella rushed to her side and rocked the distraught royal. At the same moment, Kunzite rose and began to give deployment orders, even going as far as to put the city under military law and to camp a legion in front of the palace for the protection of the royal family. 

As the military left to carry out their orders and the queen remained sobbing on the floor, Nippon walked over to the king, who stood with his back to the table and his head bowed. "Your majesty," he asked tentatively, "Do you know what you have unleashed?"

"No," the king answered honestly. "I do not think any of us know."

And in this statement, the king may have been right. Orders were given and carried out almost to the letter. Women and children as well as men were killed. Villages and cities were burned. The Basque were wiped out...

...except for one little boy that a military ensign discovered and brought back to the capital city to raise. A little boy whose parents had been great believers in the saving dark power and a boy who would later do anything to unleashed it.

- to be continued -

It took a lot out of me to write this chapter, and I'm not sure what I think of it. Please let me know what you think and what parts may have confused you. 

Thanks for reading.  
December 


End file.
